It has been recently reported that the Government’s new surveillance bill will allow the Police to see exactly what you have been up to online.
This new bill, due to be published next week, will mean that all telecoms and internet providers will by law be required to hold a log of everything their customers view, for a period of 12 months.
This will then be accessible by the Police, Intelligence Services and the National Crime Agency; allowing them to see specific web addresses people have visited. However, this will still be to some level restricted. Approval will need to be requested from a Judge, for permission of access to be granted to view the content of sites, emails and social media messages.
It has been argued for a while now by Police that they need this level of access due to the scale and amount of criminal activity originating from or being organised online.
Richard Berry, the National Police Chiefs’ Council spokesman for data communications, told The Telegraph: “We essentially need the ‘who, where, when and what’ of any communication. Who initiated it, where they were and when it happened.” “…And also a little bit of the ‘what’; - were they on Facebook? A banking site? Or, an illegal child-abuse image-sharing website?”
With online activity and criminal behaviour now being so closely linked, it seems that those of us who perhaps use an adult site or two without our partners knowledge have nothing to worry about. It is rather those that are conducting illegal actions, that need to be warned and need to understand they are on borrowed time.
Of course, the question is; firstly, will this be enough of a deterrent, and secondly, will it truly help our Police services to capture the crooks and perverse individuals that are effectively ruining the internet for all of us?
IF you have any concerns regarding your online safety, i3media.net advise that you contact your internet provider, or if you notice anything unusual contact your local Police station.
And of course, remember, you can never be too wary, always ask questions.