While we’ve all been busy with other matters, so too have our government.
An emergency law to ensure police and security services can continue to access people’s phone and internet records is expected to be approved at a special cabinet meeting later.David Cameron says the Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill is needed to fight “criminals and terrorists”.
But civil liberties groups say it infringes the right to privacy and sets a dangerous precedent.
It comes after the European Court of Justice struck down existing powers.
An EU directive requiring phone and internet companies to retain communications data – when and who their customers called, texted and emailed but not what was said – for a 12 month period was ruled unlawful in April by the European Court.
Without a new law being passed in the UK to retain the powers, Mr Cameron claims that that information could be destroyed within weeks by companies fearing legal challenges, meaning police and the security services will not be able to access it.
Also, this feature from the Guardian dated 17th June 2014, makes quite clear the deeper implications, as it reveals what information can now be legally intercepted;
The government’s most senior security official, Charles Farr, detailed how searches on Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as emails to or from non-British citizens abroad, can be monitored by the security services because they are deemed to be “external communications”.
Jack Hart from the Freedom Association said: “It is now clear that the security services are happy to justify the large scale monitoring of every Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google user in the UK. The public have never consented to such wide-reaching powers which make us all suspects, often without any grounds for suspicion
theneedleblog 
Most people are Talking about Child Abuse NOW !!!! Just talking is not enough!!! i know But it’s a start …………….Thank you for the Hard Work from sites like THIS! that don’t give up…………..They can’t silence everyone???……….
It’s definitely a difficult situation to be in: On one hand we want to ensure the country is safe and fight crime, including terrorism, but on the other hand it is quite invasive. Hopefully there’s some sort of middle ground.
The middle ground is stop interfering in the Muslim world for and on behalf of US and Israeli interests while strictly controlling immigration thereby mitigating the threat of terrorism while respecting the privacy of citizens unless a judge issues a warrant based on cause.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCsQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imdb.com%2Ftitle%2Ftt0071360%2F&ei=GQK_U6exOeSQ7Aa7k4HgDg&usg=AFQjCNFo9mSLpo-ko0rPJQR547GlcVvatA&sig2=ffVplMZydy-bZKkQOwsT8A&bvm=bv.70810081,d.ZGU
nothing is private unless one makes it private,assume that whatever the law you will be overheard if you do not make sufficient efforts to secure the conversation.
anything electric is open to monitoring even if using proxies and encryption but one can make it harder with a bit of effort ,the nsa use linux machines ,encryption and proxies when “phoning home “via unsecured networks etc etc
targeted room mikes etc take more resources than most folk would think and are quite rare
humint is always another issue
as anything you learn or say can be observed a good strategy is to shout it loud and hope many hear before you are silenced
my policy is to say it openly and a loud as poss but i recon my file is the size of a sofa
Isn’t it curious how they are so committed to meticulously and methodically tracking down and storing everyone else’s records, but are so ‘cavalier’ when it comes to locating the odd 114 files that they should have had in their own possession?;)
Stop being awkward Becky, the idea is for them to monitor us not the other way around.
Odd timing. Perhaps they want to legalise the snooping on people like us sharing info on their past disgraces.
I advise everyone to use a VPN. Private internet access.com is about twenty quid a year for secure anonymous proxy surfing.
I’m afraid BB that VPNs can be circumvented, should “someone” want to, and I suppose it could be argued that using one could arouse suspicion.
Unfortunately there is no exit and there is no “no exit” – for us, anyway.
I’d suggest a racing homer ;)
Much much harder to circumvent and in terms of what the act, relating to data retention, is about, it will mean your online activity is not routinely tracked by your ISP.
If demanding personal privacy arouses suspicion then so be it.
Public key encryption, however, strong encryption is deemed to be subject to US arms export regulations, failure to supply your private key to UK authorities when required is an offence and of course we can’t be sure how strong a key is required to frustrate NSA or GCHQ.
Perhaps their thrust would be better spent in investigating Anal Retentives instead.