Web surveillance plan divides the coalition

The government’s under fire from members of both coalition parties over its plans to extend the state’s investigatory powers to cover new means of communication. Currently, under section 22 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), public bodies can obtain communications data without the need of a warrant or any external authorisation. This gives them access to a wide array of information including the location, time, date and duration of a phone call or the IP address from which an email was sent. Over 100 public bodies — from the Home Office and local councils to the Food Standards Agency and the Charity Commission — can make use of this power for reasons ranging from national security or crime prevention to public health or assessing tax liability. The government’s proposal — which will reportedly be included in the Queen’s Speech next month — is to extend this power to include Skype, social networks and online gaming.