ISP brands UK internet spying plans ‘pointless’ 2


Ben Woods writes for ZDnet:

Entanet, which delivers data connectivity, IP telephony and telecoms services through resellers, said that the government’s £2bn scheme would fail to deliver on its snooping goals as cybercriminals will simply find ways around being tracked.

“It is our belief this whole Bill is pointless. The true criminals will simply circumnavigate such surveillance by using VPNs and proxy servers,” Neil Watson, head of service operations at Entanet, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. “Why would they incriminate themselves when they know they’re being monitored? Instead it will be the innocent general public that will take the brunt.”

At present, technical implementation of the plans has not been revealed — only that ISPs will be responsible for maintaining a “local log” of online activity, Watson said, adding that clarification over who will be responsible for paying for the extra measures has not been communicated by the government.

“In our view it should not be funded by ISPs in any way,” he said.

This is not the first time that the extension of interception powers has left ISPs in the dark over the details. In February, an ISPA spokesman told ZDNet UK that ISPs had not been consulted over the government’s plans to intercept Twitter.


2 thoughts on “ISP brands UK internet spying plans ‘pointless’

  • Tom Welsh

    It really doesn’t matter whether the funding comes immediately from the ISPs or from government. Either way, we will pay – either as taxpayers or as Internet users.

    But I doubt whether ISPs are being “left in the dark over the details”. Politicians don’t do details – they leave those to the technies to work out afterwards.

  • Tom Welsh

    It really doesn’t matter whether the funding comes immediately from the ISPs or from government. Either way, we will pay – either as taxpayers or as Internet users.

    But I doubt whether ISPs are being “left in the dark over the details”. Politicians don’t do details – they leave those to the technies to work out afterwards.

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