Bill that extends police snooping powers into cyberspace. The government claims that the Bill gives the police no new powers and places greater restrictions on their ability to spy on net surfers. The RIP Bill reaches a key stage in the House of Lords on Monday and peers are planning to scrutinise it closely. So far 229 amendments have been proposed to the RIP Bill and it faces being substantially changed or thrown back to the House of Commons. During the last House of Lords debate on the Bill in late May, Lord Lucas said peers should not be afraid to destroy the Bill if it cannot be made acceptable.
Peers are critical of the RIP Bill on several grounds.
They question the cost the government has put on installing links between internet service providers and a specially-created MI5 watching station. The government estimates that it will cost around 25 million to give MI5 the ability to watch what people are browsing. But politicians are sceptical about the price tag and feasibility of installing the black boxes. They suspect that police could compromise business confidentiality by demanding access to encrypted information, which could still the growth of the electronic economy. On Monday, the AEB published a paper sharply critical of the Bill and says it conflicts with government aims to make the UK a haven for e-commerce.