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Communications Data Bill

The controversial Communications Data Bill is being revived to introduce a wide range of laws allowing public bodies to gain access to historic private communications. The bill was blocked last year by the Liberal Democrats and Labour as the bill was seen to be a step too far on privacy and a person's human rights.

The Government hopes that the introduction of the new Laws will supplement those existing laws that record only the timeline details of any communication, the date, time and location of the event.

The announcement, endorsed by the coalition government, will be brought to parliament next week and should it receive approval, will require internet and phone companies to store communication details for a year. Whilst the new measures will not allow for the content of any communication to become accessible to the authorities, it will provide information as to whom the communication was with.

The new bill does appear to have the backing of the three main political parties, and follows a ruling in the European Court of Justice that a European directive to provide such information breached privacy rules and because of this, communications companies have announced that they will be deleting records. The urgency for the new laws are more to maintain the status quo rather than the extension of any surveillance rights.

The more controversial plans to extend the government's surveillance rights will be decided by the new government after the elections next year.

The new laws focus entirely on the fight against crime and terrorism, and with the European courts ruling the Bill is essential to maintain the powers of the Government and to provide a clear legal framework.

It appears that any move to maintain or increase the government's rights on surveillance will cause contention, indeed the president of the Law Society has stated that, as a country, we are becoming more of a surveillance society, and both Liberty and a number of MPs have voiced concern: unfortunately two concerns sit at juxtapositions to each other, that of a person's right to privacy and the fight against crime and national security, and from our point of view the fight against crime and terrorism must win.

With 95% of all investigations for serious crime cases using historical communications data, and 100% of counter terrorism activity over the past ten years using the data, the need to protect the country is essential and we support the continuation of the rights of the government to access information.



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