News Unlimited: Ministers back down on email 'spy charter'

[Owen Blacker]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

I like the lack of conditional mood in that last paragraph... Does
that mean that GAK is about *officially* to be dead?  Please?   :o)



http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/politics/story/0,3604,336837,00.html

<BQ>
Ministers back down on email 'spy charter'=20

Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondent=20
Tuesday June 27, 2000=20

The government is to back down following public uproar over a new
security services legal framework, which critics claim will give
British spies untrammelled access to email.

Ministers will today table amendments to the regulation of
investigatory powers bill making it clear that the security services
will require individual warrants to gain access to email messages or
transactions.=20

There had been widespread fears that the bill as drafted would have
meant the security services merely needed to seek a general warrant
for a website or internet service provider, and thereafter any
detailed information gleaned from that electronic system would require
no further warrant.=20

The amendment will be tabled in the Lords today in time for the next
committee stage scrutiny of the bill.=20

The Home Office minister, Charles Clarke, also promised yesterday that
ministers will table amendments to allay business fears about the
costs to companies of complying with the bill.=20

He is expected to sharpen up the distinction between the revenue and
capital costs of complying with the proposed new regulatory regime.=20

Some businesses have claimed the new regime will cost private business
as much as =A3640m over the next five years.=20

Mr Clarke has also agreed to reduce requirements on business to hand
over their encryption key to the security services, saying they will
only be required to hand over text rather than the key itself.
</BQ>

- -----
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


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.0.2

iQA/AwUBOViAN8024CF+PI6rEQLlvwCffvry2nnfllkeaj0tSZkinjW9x9oAoNaZ
K6neroK2OSSedr3i+NyfMkRd
=3DPHVl
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

_____________________________________________________________________
This message has been checked for all known viruses by UUNET delivered 
through the MessageLabs Virus Control Centre. For further information visit
http://www.uk.uu.net/products/security/virus/