Government got it wrong on RIP Act says E-envoy

[David Howe]

> > http://www.cw360asp.com/eb/eb.asp?b=23&a=101319&i=256108
>
> Netscape 4.6 can display the title of the article, but clicking on the
> link fails to bring the article up. Instead the same page appears.
>
> Of course I have cookies disabled. I have no intention of
> experimenting to see if this is why I can't read the article.
might be worth running SafeWeb against it and seeing if that works...
in any case - cut and pasted...

E-envoy admits RIP act mistakes, calls for risk taking
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Tuesday 1 May 2001

E-envoy Andrew Pinder criticized the government's introduction of its
Regulation of Investigatory Powers legislation (RIPA) and admitted that his
office has an "awkward" relationship with local authorities.

He made his remarks during the keynote speech at the GC2001 event in London
on Tuesday.

"My role and my office requires enabling legislation such as the Electronic
Communications Act, and regulatory legislation as with RIPA," said Pinder.
"Unfortunately RIPA was a clumsily introduced and unfriendly piece of law
enforcement, which caused quite an outcry. I am glad to say modifications
have been made to make it friendlier."

The e-envoy claims that the UK's change to e-government could be as
significant to the country as the industrial revolution. "The Industrial
Revolution put us on top of the world and we can strive for this sort of
success again. The change is about making the country stronger, creating a
better economy and providing a better service," he said.

He stressed the importance of local government in the move to e-government
but admitted that his lack of power at local level was a problem.

"I have authority in central government, but not locally," said Pinder.
"This creates and awkward relationship between us and local authority.
However the full picture must include local authorities and we are giving
them strong support."

During his speech Pinder also called for an end to the blame culture in
government to allow public servants to take risks in pushing towards Tony
Blair's target of complete electronic service by 2005. He said, "I don't
want people to be cautious in going for targets. I want to praise the risk
takers, even if they may fail at times."

Bruce Ackland.