These records will show what websites individuals have visited, but not which pages they accessed or what data they submitted to that website.
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Communications companies will also be legally required to help spies hack in to suspects’ phones and computers.
Basically, to flush out terrorists and anti-social elements, the Government wants you to pay up with your privacy.
They’ll still be able to use encryption in their services, but must assist security services in bypassing this encryption if deemed necessary.
Home secretary Theresa May has insisted that the security services will not be allowed to access the full browsing histories of web users and said it was “simply wrong” to suggest otherwise.
British Home Secretary Theresa May described the publication of the draft Investigatory Powers Bill as a “decisive moment”, saying that Britain needed to update its legislation to ensure it is “modern, fit for goal, and can respond to emerging threats as technology advances”. “This means that even wholly domestic encrypted communications in the United States, France, or South Africa would be put at risk”.
May was under pressure from all sides to introduce a “judicial oversight” in this bill – so warrants would need to be approved by judges, not just ministers.
“It’s not a safe space for them to communicate on a fixed line telephone or a mobile phone, we shouldn’t allow the internet to be a safe space for them to communicate and do bad things'”.
“After all the talk of climbdowns and safeguards, this long-awaited bill constitutes a breath-taking attack on the internet security of every man, woman and child in our country”, said Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty.
The original communications data bill of 2012 was shelved after being blocked by the Liberal Democrats, and Government sources say a few of the more contentious powers from that bill have been dropped.
Privacy groups said they wanted more details about the bill’s requirement that communications service providers must “provide wider assistance to law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies in the interests of national security”.
“Under the proposals, dubbed a “Snooper’s Charter” by sections of the British media”, a new team of judges will form a new Investigatory Powers Commission, which the Home Office says will provide world-leading oversight of how police, MI5 and others intercept and gather data.
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“For the first time, Parliament and the British public will be able to debate mass surveillance powers like bulk interception, bulk hacking, and the data-mining of bulk personal datasets”. It will be examined in detail by both Houses of Parliament before a final bill is produced for consideration by MPs and Lords.
