Letters | 19 September 2012

Criminals on the net

Sir: Nick Cohen (‘Nowhere to hide’, 15 September) raises interesting points about the double-edged nature of the internet. The web has brought us massive communications benefits. However it also affords criminals the same. It is this that concerns me, rather than Mr Cohen’s claim that it will allow, through our Communications Data Bill, the government to monitor people’s every move. This is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the Bill. Its purpose is to update powers law enforcement bodies already have, making them relevant to the 21st century.
It cannot make sense to enable police to investigate crimes conducted using a mobile phone but not give them powers to investigate crimes conducted over the internet. We are only talking about who a criminal emailed and when — not content. We do not want automatic access to every service people use to communicate. The authorities will only be able to access data as part of investigations, when necessary and proportionate, to protect the public.