Silicon.com: Snooping Bill: Critics gain Chamber of Commerce supp ort

[Owen Blacker]

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From: NMTV.WebMaster@www.nmtv.net
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 10:02 AM


Snooping Bill: Critics gain Chamber of Commerce support
PUBLISHED: 0:25am on Monday 12th June 2000

The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and the London School
of Economics (LSE) will release a report today highlighting
new evidence of the damage the Regulation of Investigatory
Powers (RIP) Bill will have on British ecommerce.

Chris Humphries, director general of the BCC, told
silicon.com that his institution and the LSE commissioned
the report to prove the Bill is a serious threat to British
business. The report comes as the House of Lords meets
today for to debate the issue.

He said: "We can now produce real evidence to the House of
Lords of what the general implications of the Bill on
businesses will be, and why they should challenge the
wording in the Bill to protect our ability to compete
effectively on the global stage."

Humphries criticised the proposed legislation in an open
letter to the Home Secretary last week, saying it
represented a serious invasion of commercial privacy. His
response was supported in a statement released by the
Institute of Directors (IoD) on Friday.

Jim Norton, director of e-policy at the IoD, echoed
Humphries' earlier criticism that the Bill could stunt
growth of British ecommerce.

Norton said: "The UK stance on this Bill is worrying many
companies - especially multinationals who contrast the
proposed UK legislation against far more business-friendly
proposals in Ireland, France and Germany and even the USA."
A leading anti-RIP lobbyist welcomed news of the report,
telling silicon.com that at the House of Lords' third
hearing, the Home Office minister Charles Clarke had
requested lobby groups to offer such evidence.

The lobbyist, who didn't want to be named, agreed that
passing the Bill in its current state could have severe
economic implications.

He told silicon.com: "Those affected are primarily
international financial sector groups who need client
confidentiality against government espionage as well as
against hackers. But it is a subject they don't like to
talk about publicly, they won't wait for the implications,
they will just move their business instead."

He said that he hopes the committee will take its time over
today's debate to unravel the problems and find solutions.
For related news and analysis, see:

'The "Snooping Bill": last chance for change'
http://www.silicon.com/a37786
''Snooping Bill' will not deter criminals, say experts'
http://www.silicon.com/a37275
''Snooping Bill' slammed by Silicon.com viewers'
http://www.silicon.com/a36839
'Silicon.com Survey: the RIP Bill and you'
http://www.silicon.com/a36635
''Snooping Bill' slammed over privacy issues'
http://www.silicon.com/a36138

Copyright 1998 - 2000 NMTV/Silicon.com. All rights reserved.

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