The UK investigatory powers act - Government snooping on a whole new level

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Basically, this means:

• All internet providers in the UK have to track user's browsing history
• Any government agency has unprecedented access to this data

I urge anyone in the UK to find themselves a good VPN.
internet security, at least in the UK, is dead, without even a wimper.

What are your thoughts? Personally, I think this is disgusting. We may as well shut down our internet connections now and start mailing lists, using postal mail.

Good news, it's not law quite yet, it's awaiting royal consent, and the petition to repeal it has got enough signatures to demand a rethink.

I find this potential law absolutely disgusting as I do not believe the government has the right to this invasion of privacy in the slightest, but at the same time, I dont think citizens have anything to really fear as long as they follow the law. Unless I'm missing something?

BadSheep said:

I find this potential law absolutely disgusting as I do not believe the government has the right to this invasion of privacy in the slightest, but at the same time, I dont think citizens have anything to really fear as long as they follow the law. Unless I'm missing something?

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Yeah a lot of us aren't very happy about it this end either. It's not about fearing anything, it's about privacy. I've shared some personal images with ex partners and acquaintances and the like and those really are not for anyone else, especially some nosey parker empowered by May of all awful creatures.

This kind of invasion of privacy, even in potentia, bothers me. The government should exist to support and defend its people and to protect their freedom, not to treat them like criminals that need watching. The government doesn't have the right to spy on its citizens, that is the opposite of freedom.

I hate the overrexaggerated buzzword of 'Orwellian' that is so common nowadays, but... this certainly fits the bill.

I don't know . . . might catch a few more baddies, but the government will know what your fetishes are. Bleh. I predict a rise in pirated connections and router dummies. So long as you know what you're doing, your internet connection can make you look like you're in North Korea . . .

I don't think they should do this though. Means bad business and some companies might actually refuse to release or even gather such information. I would imagine that they should have a say in this, considering it involves the government encroaching upon their business.

Because no government database has ever been hacked so we can all rest assured that the collection of our data, if in the hands of the most benevolent of governments, will never fall into the wrong hands.

I have little information on this since I'm American, but I believe there are strong suspicions about someone doing nasty things, they should be looked into with approval from the government.

JDJacket said:

I don't know . . . might catch a few more baddies, but the government will know what your fetishes are. Bleh. I predict a rise in pirated connections and router dummies. So long as you know what you're doing, your internet connection can make you look like you're in North Korea . . .

I don't think they should do this though. Means bad business and some companies might actually refuse to release or even gather such information. I would imagine that they should have a say in this, considering it involves the government encroaching upon their business.

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Part of it is because of the noted rise of the Left in Britain again. The right wing of the Labour party already used Social Media snooping to deny over 200,000 of it's members a vote in the leadership election 2.0 based on those 200,000 being for Corbyn and some level of Socialism. He still won, and he still won by an increased majority to the last time he won. In a country where foodbank usage, cuts against the disabled, against the sick and massive underspending and privatization of public resources and services the left are, once again, as we so often are in times of classist oppression, a real force to be reckoned with.

May is now going to lead us through a potentially, and very likely, economically crippling exit from the EU. Britain will likely see a smaller scale recession than 08/09 but a recession none the less and with the loss of jobs, the massive poverty that'll follow that, you will see protests and you will likely see riots against the elite and, as we;ve seen with the Arab Spring, the London Riots (these weren't left wing, but they were organised the same way) and the Occupy movement(s), Social Media will be paramount in organising people. Having unprecedented access to private conversations will allow the Government to act before we can.

Well, I just got an email saying this won't come up for debate again. Can someone start a pokecommunity VPN for british members?