BBC News Online: 'Snoop' plans put on hold

[Roland Perry]

In message <B9369287.1FB26%zenadsl6186@zen.co.uk>, Peter Fairbrother
<zenadsl6186@zen.co.uk> writes

>and 20,000 requests for subscriber details cost £200
>each, that's £6,000,000 per year, or about 10p per year per UK citizen.

I think you'll find the number of requests rather higher.

>I haven't included any costs involved in serving the warrant/order on the
>Service Provider(s), as that has to be done in any case.

Or indeed the costs of the service provider in complying.

>The number of
>subscriber detail requests could also be brought down by allowing reverse
>telephone number lookups,

Well, if you are prepared to allow that, then the problem almost
entirely goes away - because that's all the very vast majority of
enquiries are!

>if the number is listed anyone with a telephone
>directory CD can do that in minutes anyway

I don't believe such CDs are available, not even for phones supplied by
the incumbent, let alone cable companies or mobile. Let alone email
addresses.

> - you can also go to a library
>and look through a telephone directory, it only takes a few hours.

I don't think so (there are 20M BT subscribers alone, to thumb through).
-- 
             Roland Perry | tel: +44 20 7645 3505 | roland@linx.org
Director of Public Policy | fax: +44 20 7645 3529 | http://www.linx.net
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