UK Backs Off Big Brother Powers… For Now
from the too-much-pressure dept
The UK has (at least temporarily) put aside plans to make it easier for authorities to demand phone and email records. Certain authorities in the UK have had this power for a while, but they were going to extend it to local councils and certain other government bodies that had no clear reason for needing that information. There was, apparently, quite an uproar from people concerned about their privacy. Home Secretary David Blunkett even admitted that it was a mistake, saying that they realized the current plans were likely to have the “opposite effect” of what was intended. However, he did think that more discussion and new proposals would be useful in the future.
