The UK’s Science and Technology Committee has said that government plans to force internet service providers to store everyone ’s web browsing history for two years is “unacceptable”. Under the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, the police and security services would have access to the names of sites that a user had visited over the course of a year without needing a warrant. But Nicola Blackwood said the government had to do more to "allay unfounded concerns that encryption will no longer be possible". The Committee however argues that these requirements are confusing and warns that the situation might lead to a rise in hacking. The government has already tried to allay fears, arguing that the security forces will not have access to the individual pages visited, just the domain names. Internet service providers have however warned that separating out this data might not be possible. The Committee’s chairperson, Nicola Blackwood, commented: “The bill was intended to provide clarity to the industry, but the current draft contains very broad and ambiguous definitions of internet connection records (ICRs), which are confusing communications providers.” The Home Office has said that it will study the comments.
The UK’s Science and Technology Committee has said that government plans to force internet service providers to store everyone’s web browsing history for two years is “unacceptable”. Under the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, the police and security services would have access to the names of sites that a user had visited over the course of a year without needing a warrant. The Committee however argues that these requirements are confusing and warns that the situation might lead to a rise in hacking. The government has already tried to allay fears, arguing that the security forces will not have access to the individual pages visited, just the domain names. Internet service providers have however warned that separating out this data might not be possible. The Committee’s chairperson, Nicola Blackwood, commented: “The bill was intended to provide clarity to the industry, but the current draft contains very broad and ambiguous definitions of internet connection records (ICRs), which are confusing communications providers.” The Home Office has said that it will study the comments.