Opposition party highlights flaw in UK govt comms data plans

Opposition party members in the United Kingdom are concerned about the possible misuse of communications data by local authorities, if a proposed law to monitor Web and phone communication data is adopted.

James Brokenshire, Conservative shadow home affairs minister, told ZDNet Asia's sister site ZDNet UK last week that access rights to communications-traffic data should be strictly controlled to stop local authorities using the data for unnecessary surveillance purposes.

"Potentially 600 agencies will get access to this data," said Brokenshire. "We are very concerned about the 'dustbin Stasi'."

Brokenshire said the public needs to know from the government how the Communications Data Bill, which the government plans to use to compel service providers to log traffic data for all Web and phone communications, will interlock with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa). Ripa is legislation intended to fight terrorism but which local authorities have used for purposes such as monitoring dog fouling and videoing people putting out dustbins.

Last Monday, the government proposed that communications service providers be required to hold and process communications traffic data. The idea is that authorities can organize that information in a way that establishes the links between different pieces of data associated with, for example, the same phone, subscriber or user ID.

However, the Home Office told ZDNet UK last week that local-authority powers would not be extended by the Communications Data Bill.

"Restrictions apply to the purposes for which individual public authorities may acquire communications data and the types of communications data they may acquire," said a Home Office spokesperson. "For example, local authorities are not entitled to acquire traffic information, such as location information for a mobile phone."

The spokesperson said that the majority of applications under Ripa for communications-data information are from law-enforcement, security and intelligence agencies, and that a "small proportion" were applications from local authorities.

"From 2007 to 2008, there were 519,260 acquisitions of communications data under Ripa part 1, Chapter 2," said the spokesperson. "Of this figure a very small proportion--1,707, or 0.3 percent--involved acquisition of communications data by local authorities."

Last week, the government said it had dropped plans for a single, centralized communications database. Brokenshire said he was "delighted the home secretary has backed off" this plan, due to civil liberties and privacy concerns.

The government announced in December that it would review powers granted to local authorities under Ripa.