Wired: British E-commerce to RIP?

[Owen Blacker]

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http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36764,00.html

British E-Commerce to RIP? 
Reuters
10:10 a.m. Jun. 5, 2000 PDT 


LONDON -- Draft legislation allowing security officials to monitor
business emails could prevent Britain becoming a leader in e-commerce,
the British Chambers of Commerce warned Monday. 

It said companies could face huge civil liability claims from clients
who believe confidentiality has been breached by police investigation
of electronic messages. 

Such risks could encourage companies to take their business elsewhere,
the BCC said. 

The group was so concerned by the ramifications of the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill it raised the issues directly in a
letter to Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Jack Straw last week. 

"There is a real danger that the competitive disadvantage caused by
this measure will frustrate the government's ambition of making the UK
the best place to trade electronically by 2002," BCC Director General
Chris Humphries said in the letter. 

BCC policy director Mark Sharman explained that companies may move
their sensitive electronic messaging activities to Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) operating offshore where laws are not so stringent
and less costly. 

"There is also an element of new, non-British, e-commerce ventures not
wanting to invest in the UK because the laws are so stringent,"
Sharman told Reuters. 

"US companies, for instance, would be quite concerned if the security
of their emails could be compromised." 

The group said complying with monitoring demands in terms of equipment
or software would far exceed the government's estimate of 30 million
pounds ($45.29 million). 

Straw introduced the bill earlier this year to a chorus of
disapproval, mainly over its power to force ISPs to grant police
access to a huge amount of information on Internet users. 

"The government is committed to ensuring the UK is the best and safest
environment to conduct e-commerce," a Home Office spokesman told
Reuters Monday. 

"Industry wants a secure environment in which to operate -- the RIP
Bill will assist in achieving that." 

"It's not the principle we oppose, it's the details," the BCC's
Sharman said. "We're all for the need for a regulation to combat
criminal activity and pornography on the Internet but most countries
do not impose strict restrictions on encryptions by individual
businesses." 

He said businesses or individuals may be forced to surrender sensitive
information or software "keys" used to decode encrypted messages and
this could generate costly claims of breach of confidentiality by
clients. 

Sharman said employees might also find themselves in a position of a
breach of trust with their superiors if pressed by authorities to
provide sensitive information because the bill prohibits them from
telling colleagues. They face a "tipping off" penalty if they do. 

The BCC is also urging the government to ensure the safety of the
sensitive information once attained. Failure to do, said Sharman, was
further grounds for a liability claim.
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Owen Blacker
Senior Internet Developer and InfoSec Consultant, pres.co
DSS: 0x7e3c8eab | 2f45 c60d 6a0a 0007 193d  d994 cd36 e021 7e3c 8eab
RSA: 0x38fee6c3 |      7c41 e69c 5b8a 484d  22af 1859 f4c9 307b


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