Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network --------------------------------------------------------------------- ## author : declan@wired.com ## date : 10.02.00 --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_638000/638041.stm Surveillance bill under fire At issue is the burden of proof The UK Government came under fire on Thursday from the internet community after it published a Bill to regulate covert surveillance. The critics say the legislation, if passed, could lead to innocent people being sent to jail simply because they have lost their data encryption codes. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill covers the monitoring and the interception of communications by law enforcement and security agencies. It will, for example, lay down the legal rules that must be followed by the police and security services when they tap someone's phone. It also regulates the authorities' access to the codes that encrypt data sent over the net. Such encryption will increasingly become a routine tool of e-commerce, built into ordinary e-mail and browser software. But the Home Office is deeply concerned that criminals, such as paedophiles, will use encryption to hide their activities. And, as a result, the Bill proposes that the police or the security services should have the power to force someone to hand over decryption keys or the plain text of specified materials, such as e-mails, and jail those who refuse. [...] ---------------------------------- Send mail for the 'huridocs-tech' list to 'huridocs-tech@hrea.org'. Mail administrative requests to 'majordomo@hrea.org'. For additional assistance, send mail to: 'owner-huridocs-tech@hrea.org'. Archives of previous messages posted to the list can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/lists/huridocs-tech/markup/maillist.html
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