Snooper's Charter | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Mon, 28 Nov 2016 12:15:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Snooper's Charter | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Investigatory Powers repeal petition reaches 119,000 signatures https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/investigatory-powers-repeal-petition-reaches-119000-signatures/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/investigatory-powers-repeal-petition-reaches-119000-signatures/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2016 12:15:39 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=313227 An online petition demanding that the UK government repeal the newly installed surveillance laws made possible by the Investigatory Powers Bill has now passed the threshold for debate in parliament. It needed at least 100,000 signatures, but has continued on since then and is closing on on 120,000 at the time of writing. The Investigatory …

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An online petition demanding that the UK government repeal the newly installed surveillance laws made possible by the Investigatory Powers Bill has now passed the threshold for debate in parliament. It needed at least 100,000 signatures, but has continued on since then and is closing on on 120,000 at the time of writing.

The Investigatory Powers Bill is a piece of legislation that mandated the collection of “internet connection records,” or the top-level browsing history of every British citizen at the IP level, as well as mass hacking of citizen hardware if required by a criminal investigation. These are measures that many members of the public are hugely concerned by and campaigned against it, but the bill passed through parliament with only perfunctory amendments.

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Recently appointed PM, Theresa May had been driving the IPB forward for years before her recent promotion. Source: PolyExchange/Flickr

To try and combat that, opponents of the bill and its legal measures have been driving up the official petition and it's certainly been effective. It quickly passed the 10,000 signatures required for the standing government to issue an official response to the petition and now by passing the 100,000 mark it will be considered for debate in parliament.

Considering there wasn't much in the way of opposition by politicians of either major party, it seems unlikely that any debate would be too favourable, but it's hoped that with the outpouring of support for the petition and some of the negative press surrounding the bill, it will help change politician's minds.

It's not the only petition that's been gaining traction recently either. Privacy focused Open Rights Group has generated more than 10,800 signatures for its anti-Digital Economy Bill petition.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The UK is swimming with anti-privacy/freedom online legislation at the moment. Despite its generally liberal, western ideals, it now has some of the most unrestricted surveillance laws in the world. 

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Investigatory Powers Bill passes without a hitch https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/labour-gives-soft-support-for-investigatory-powers-bill/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/labour-gives-soft-support-for-investigatory-powers-bill/#comments Wed, 08 Jun 2016 08:20:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=295282 Update: Following a vote in the House of Commons, MPs have passed the Investigatory Powers Bill with a majority of 444 to 69. With backing from both Labour and the Conservatives, the opposition from the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and the Scottish National Party failed to make much of a difference. Although several amendments to …

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Update: Following a vote in the House of Commons, MPs have passed the Investigatory Powers Bill with a majority of 444 to 69. With backing from both Labour and the Conservatives, the opposition from the Liberal Democrats, Green Party and the Scottish National Party failed to make much of a difference.

Although several amendments to the bill were proposed prior to the vote, none were passed, despite calls to better define its wording and to require reasonable suspicion before spying on someone.

The bill will now be passed on to the House of Lords where it will be voted on again in short order.

Original Story: Following what it described as home secretary Theresa May meeting ‘significant demands' it had about privacy protections with the Investigatory Powers Bill, Labour has ‘in principle' supported the piece of snooping legislation. It claimed that the bill could now support both security and human rights after these changes were made.

Along with the SNP, Labour has been an opponent of the Investigatory Powers Bill for some time, abstaining from a vote on it earlier this year in protest of its lack of oversight, lack of privacy provisions and its loose wording. The SNP also abstained at that time and many organisations, including the Open Rights Group have protested its mere existence.

While the Conservatives have made some changes to the bill though, enough it seems to garner Labour's loose support, many of the most worrying aspects have yet to be addressed. The provision that intelligence agencies could hack hardware on a mass scale is still present, as is Theresa May's ability to bypass the warrant system in 'emergencies.'

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Source: UK Home Office

That said, Labour did help instigate an independent review of the bill, which is set to take place within the next three months during the bill's passage through the House of Lords. However that may not be as encouraging as supporters hope, as several bodies have now analysed the bill, finding hundreds of problems with it and only a handful have even been addressed.

Indeed, the reason the SNP refuses to back the bill is because so many of its concerns and proposed amendments have not been considered by the government. It also criticised the way the bill was being rushed through parliament in an attempt to enact it before proper debate could take place.

“We're not going to get a chance to vote on more than half of these amendments,” said SNP home affairs spokesperson, Joanna Cherry. She went on to state that less than 10 amendments would be considered because of time restraints. “It’s not the way to legislate,” she said (via Ars).

Of those amendments that were debated, many were rejected, including the introduction of an IPB oversight commission, protections for whistle blowers and requiring “reasonable suspicion,” before a warrant can be issued.

The MPs will continue to debate the bill today, before it heads to the house of lords.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's amazing that under the IPB, police and intelligence agencies don't even need to suspect you of a crime to be able to hack your devices apart. It's so disappointing that so few politicians see that as perfectly fine. 

 

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Privacy International unveils staggering social surveillance in UK https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/privacy-international-unveils-staggering-social-surveillance-in-uk/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/privacy-international-unveils-staggering-social-surveillance-in-uk/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2016 11:02:15 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=290082 Privacy International has managed to unearth thousands of documents which details decades of in-depth spying on British citizens by the country's intelligence agencies: GCHQ, MI5 and MI6. With minimum safeguards in place, those organisations have been snooping on British citizen's medical records, work histories and the online petitions they've signed, for years, without oversight. While …

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Privacy International has managed to unearth thousands of documents which details decades of in-depth spying on British citizens by the country's intelligence agencies: GCHQ, MI5 and MI6. With minimum safeguards in place, those organisations have been snooping on British citizen's medical records, work histories and the online petitions they've signed, for years, without oversight.

While it's been known for some time that GCHQ and other intelligence agencies had been bending the rules to collect masses of data in the hope that someone in there is a terrorist, it turns out the spying goes back much further. Indeed, since the mid-80s, the intelligence agencies have had the legal right to look at all sorts of documents and data without much in the way of checks to prevent misuse.

Along with the typical phone tapping and social networking tracking we've heard about in recent years thanks to the Snowden revelations, GCHQ and co. have been using “Bulk Personal Datasets” (BPDs) to hoover up more data on people. This can involve reading lawyer to client communications, acquiring entire medical histories on individuals and even collecting data on what online petitions they have signed.

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In reality, Bond sits behind a desk and checks what online petitions you've been signing. You dirty terrorist. 

This isn't all to prevent serious crimes either. This sort of data gathering was used in recent years to prevent pirate copies of a Harry Potter novel being distributed. There are also many cited incidents of individual government employees using the data for personal reasons, but despite that, only four people have been disciplined for it. No one has ever been fired, or even suspended, just subject to “disciplinary procedures.”

That highlights the lack of safeguards in place for this data collection. As Ars explains, MI6's big safeguard was to add a warning to all dataset viewers, that “it is your duty and responsibility to avoid” viewing information they have no need to know.

It also cites a text field where agents must input a reason for viewing the data, though there is no mention of anyone perusing those justifications or checking for accuracy.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: And yet despite this mass surveillance having happened for years, without much oversight, the government is still pushing the Investigatory Powers Bill. Surveillance is already out of control and for some reason this isn't enough?

 

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Apple joins firms calling for block of Snooper’s Charter https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/apple-joins-firms-calling-for-block-of-snoopers-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/apple-joins-firms-calling-for-block-of-snoopers-charter/#respond Fri, 25 Mar 2016 10:45:29 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=287981 It didn't take long for politicians to jump on the recent attacks in Brussels, as further evidence that the Theresa May driven Investigatory Powers Bill, more colloquially known as the Snooper's Charter, is needed. This despite many of the world's major tech firms claiming otherwise and now Apple has joined the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook …

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It didn't take long for politicians to jump on the recent attacks in Brussels, as further evidence that the Theresa May driven Investigatory Powers Bill, more colloquially known as the Snooper's Charter, is needed. This despite many of the world's major tech firms claiming otherwise and now Apple has joined the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook in calling for major changes to the bill.

May has been trying to push the Snooper's Charter through parliament for years and only recently had some measure of success when the British government used the attacks in Paris last year, as reason enough to rush it through parliament. However it's faced setbacks in recent months, as a trio of parliamentary committees have highlighted more than 123 problems with the bill.

Those calls have been echoed by privacy proponents and many of the major tech firms too, with Google and Apple now standing alongside the likes of Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and Yahoo to voice their concerns. They warn that the bill in its current form invades the privacy of users, and should not make it possible for the government to force companies to weaken their own encryption.

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Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has repeatedly stood by consumer privacy and against any weakening of digital security. Source: Wikimedia

They also highlight how international agreements between intelligence agencies is often far more effective in bringing about meaningful tracking of terrorists and other criminals, than forcing through powers that give governments unregulated reach beyond their borders. They argue that the UK should not be able to strong arm international companies in this manner (via the Guardian).

This evidence, along with other highlighted issues, were submitted to the public bill committee, which will look at the piece of legislation before it is brought to a vote in the House of Commons.

It remains to be seen whether this will have much effect however. Despite more than 100 complaints made by the parliamentary committees leading up to the current evidence gathering session earlier this year and late 2015, the government's revisions have been cosmetic at best. In one instance, it claimed that the bill protected privacy because it added the word “privacy,” to one of its headings. 

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's disgraceful how much the terror attacks in recent months have been leveraged by May to push this legislation through. It treats everyone like a criminal and will do absolutely nothing to help catch terrorists. 

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Investigatory Powers Bill re-drafted, more of the same https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/investigatory-powers-bill-re-drafted-more-of-the-same/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/investigatory-powers-bill-re-drafted-more-of-the-same/#comments Wed, 02 Mar 2016 12:48:03 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=285800 Yesterday saw the British government publish the latest draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill and though it promised to take into consideration the three committees that have attacked it, addressing their 100+ concerns, it hasn't. In many cases it has ignored major problems raised by various parliamentary bodies and has even added further police powers …

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Yesterday saw the British government publish the latest draft of the Investigatory Powers Bill and though it promised to take into consideration the three committees that have attacked it, addressing their 100+ concerns, it hasn't. In many cases it has ignored major problems raised by various parliamentary bodies and has even added further police powers of surveillance.

The big concern from many organisations, individuals, lobby groups and the government's own appointed bodies, has been the lack of privacy protection.

The ability for the police to view internet connection records, in some instances without a warrant; the fact that browser histories are stored for a year; the potential for companies being forced to backdoor their own encryption, and the ability for the government to order hardware-hacking of devices on a mass scale.

In those respects, nothing has changed.

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Source: Policy Exchange/Flickr

Indeed, powers have been extended, with the new draft (as per Ars) now making it possible for police to view entire “internet connection records” (ICR) rather than just websites that might be illegal. It also solidifies that the police may, in certain cases, demand that companies remove encryption and other obfuscating technologies from digital data, to allow it to be viewed by authorities.

While certain changes were made, such as adding “privacy” to one heading and clarifying that the police must factor in the costs involved in removing security protections when demanding it of companies, little else has been changed that affects the privacy of consumers.

No wording was changed with regards to mass hacking either. Warrantless cracking of hundreds of devices would be entirely legal under the new bill and despite concerns raised from many, this new draft does nothing to change that.

Worse yet, the government and the bill's main proponent, Theresa May, are rushing it through as fast as possible. It is set to be re-introduced into parliament on the 14th March and set to be voted on on the 22nd. Considering the bill is over 800 pages long, this gives no time for politicians to properly familiarise themselves with it.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It really is worrying how fast the government is trying to rush this through. If you have real concerns yourself, it might be worth emailing your MP. You can find all the details and a form to do it with here.

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Despite calls for change, Snooper’s Charter to be rushed through https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/despite-calls-for-change-snoopers-charter-to-be-rushed-through/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/despite-calls-for-change-snoopers-charter-to-be-rushed-through/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:04:15 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=285707 The Investigatory Powers Bill, Theresa May's revamped “Snooper's Charter ” as it has so often been termed, is set to be published in full later today, re-introduced to parliament on the 14th and voted on by the 22nd. This is far faster than it was ever meant to be pushed through and is taking place …

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The Investigatory Powers Bill, Theresa May's revamped “Snooper's Charter ” as it has so often been termed, is set to be published in full later today, re-introduced to parliament on the 14th and voted on by the 22nd. This is far faster than it was ever meant to be pushed through and is taking place despite the fact that three separate parliamentary committees have raised 123 issues with it.

May has been trying to introduce increased surveillance powers for Britain's intelligence agencies for years. She previously attempted to push through a Draft Communications Bill in 2013, which contained many of the provisions of the Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB). It was shot down by then coalition leader Nick Clegg, but since then she's come back harder than ever.

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Source: Home Office/Flickr

The IPB would enshrine in law the collection of “internet connection records,” which certainly relate to browsing history, though its vaguery suggests that it could also be used to collect messaging history and similar content. While it does protect these records from unlawful viewing, it does provide special circumstances where a warrant is not required.

This is a major point of contention for all three of the parliamentary committees that have analysed the bill, among almost 100 other concerns, including the lack of oversight, invasions of privacy and the sheer cost of implementing such mass surveillance on a permanent scale. Estimations from ISPs we spoke to suggested that it could cost in the tens of millions of pounds per ISP, with no word on whether the government – and by extension, the public – would foot the bill for that.

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Considering all of the Leo memes lately, it seems only right he explains May's position on committee concerns

As well as using the French terrorist attacks of last year as a springboard for this legislation, May has argued that the reason these concerns should be brushed off, is because internet browsing record collection, currently enabled under emergency legislation, is set to expire at the end of the year. However, as pointed out by fellow Conservative David Davis (via the Independent), that could quite easily be extended to give more time for the bill to be worked on.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: With the bill set to be published in full later today, it seems clear that May is not planning to listen to concerns. Fortunately it seems that there is cross-party opposition to it so passing it through will be difficult, but it's worrisome that so little concern is being paid to intelligent criticism of the bill, from a technical, legal and moral standpoint.

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Watchdog attacks government over Investigatory Powers Bill https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/watchdog-attacks-government-over-investigatory-powers-bill/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/watchdog-attacks-government-over-investigatory-powers-bill/#respond Wed, 10 Feb 2016 11:12:46 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=283434 The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of Parliament, a previously rather quite organisation has stepped out of the shadows to lambaste the British government over its proposed Investigatory Powers Bill, often termed the Snooper's Charter. It claims that the bill “lacks clarity,” and wants to see privacy protections, “form the backbone of the draft legislation.” …

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The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) of Parliament, a previously rather quite organisation has stepped out of the shadows to lambaste the British government over its proposed Investigatory Powers Bill, often termed the Snooper's Charter. It claims that the bill “lacks clarity,” and wants to see privacy protections, “form the backbone of the draft legislation.”

The Investigatory Powers Bill is the second attempt by Theresa May and the Conservatives to push through legislation that affects surveillance of British citizens on a mass scale. The Communications Data bill of 2013 was shot down by the Liberal Democrats because it was seen as too overreaching, but it's returned with a vengeance since the election last year, with more powers than ever.

Although those powers themselves are worrisome, much of what has concerned the bill's opponents has been its wording, and the ISC is no different. It decries the mention of “bulk equipment interference warrants,” which would allow for the hacking of hardware to snoop on large organisations or groups. The lack of clarity or protections to avoid prejudice or exploitation of the vague wording is of real concern, it said (via Ars).

It wants that measure struck from the bill entirely.

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It also draws cause for concern surrounding the collection of data on individuals, as there is little oversight as to what data should be collected. While one individual may be legally monitored in terms of their phone calls, there is nothing to suggest that the authorities couldn't use it to monitor all aspects of a person's communications, without much to keep that surveillance in-check.

That's the biggest concern the ISC has about the entire bill: the lack of oversight. Agencies are essentially allowed to manage themselves and use ‘best practices' to prevent misuse. That's “simply unacceptable,” the ISC claims, “this new legislation is an opportunity to provide clarity and assurance and it fails to do so in this regard.”

It's not clear at this time what effect the ISC's damning will have on the bill, but considering many politicians debating its legality and viability don't seem to understand many aspects of the bill, it may be beneficial to those looking to curtail its powers. At the very least, debates relating to its function may be a little more informed now.

The Investigatory Powers Bill is currently being debated in parliament to see whether its introduction should be fast tracked in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks of last year.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's good to see a government agency speaking out against the measures in the Investigatory Powers Bill. We've known for some time how over the top its requests for powers are, especially when it comes to reporting and oversight; glad to see others are catching on.

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Information commissioner attacks UK’s new Snooper’s Charter https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/information-commissioner-attacks-uks-new-snoopers-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/information-commissioner-attacks-uks-new-snoopers-charter/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:11:07 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=280409 Independent public data rights authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), has attacked plans by the government to push through the Investigatory Powers Bill, often called the Snooper's Charter. It claims that there is little justification for some of the measures it wishes to push through and claims that it weakens personal privacy without cause. The …

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Independent public data rights authority, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), has attacked plans by the government to push through the Investigatory Powers Bill, often called the Snooper's Charter. It claims that there is little justification for some of the measures it wishes to push through and claims that it weakens personal privacy without cause.

The Investigatory Powers bill is something that Theresa May and other members of the Conservative government have been pushing to instil into law for years. It was previously blocked under a different guise by Nick Clegg, but it's been revived and using the horrific Paris terrorist attacks as leverage, it's now being rushed through in an attempt to pass it sooner.

This is something the ICO (and many other groups) find worrisome, but it's the content of the Bill that has them calling for change. The most notorious and, it claims, unjustified aspect of the bill would require ISPs store the browsing history of customers for 12 months, enabling governments and police forces to trawl through it later down the line if needed.

Ostensibly this is to help track down terrosists, but the ICO sees this as a baseless claim.

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No word on whether May plans to hire the keymaker as of yet

Other concerns include the fact that the bill would potentially force tech companies to provide the government ‘backdoors' to encryption, making it quite redundant in many people's eyes. The ICO agrees, stating in its dressing down of the bill (via the Guardian) that weakening encryption would have: “detrimental consequences to the security of data and safeguards which are essential to the public’s continued confidence in the handling and use of their personal information.”

Encryption is vitally important it argues, to guard against the “compromise of personal information.” Instead, it suggests the government should be championing encryption, as the regular breaches of security at corporate firms and of individuals' private files suggests that obfuscating it would be a good way to protect against hackers.

As it stands, the bill is still being debated, with a new oral evidence session set to take place with Theresa May tomorrow, 13th January.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This really cannot come to pass. Weakening encryption and snooping on citizens will do absolutely nothing to stop terrorists. There are too many avenues of communication to use instead and being able to look at their browsing history later will do nothing to catch someone before they commit a heinous act.

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Sky to introduce internet watershed for all new customers https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/sky-to-introduce-internet-watershed-for-all-new-customers/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/sky-to-introduce-internet-watershed-for-all-new-customers/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2015 13:18:01 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=278737 Taking the initiative following the British government's interest in bringing forward the Investigatory Powers Bill, Sky has announced that it will be introducing its filtering system automatically for all new customers (it won't even ask first) and will even go so far as to instigate a watershed-like system. Before 9PM, no new Sky customers will …

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Taking the initiative following the British government's interest in bringing forward the Investigatory Powers Bill, Sky has announced that it will be introducing its filtering system automatically for all new customers (it won't even ask first) and will even go so far as to instigate a watershed-like system. Before 9PM, no new Sky customers will be able to access websites that are considered too racy for a PG rating.

Although many of the UK's ISPs have some form of filtering in place – even while others aggressively oppose it – this is the first time an ISP has discussed such limited internet access, especially on a time-of-day basis. Sky's Broadband Shield previously had a very low adoption rate, but since it made it opt-out for customers, it's seen much greater usage.

Although Sky has talked up customer adoption of the filtering system, the fact that people only really began using it once it became a pain to remove, suggests otherwise (thanks Ars).

demandmore

Demand more… like the unrestricted internet access you pay for

Sky's new system will be applied to new customers only – though it has previously rolled back services to older customers –  and will have a multi-tiered system of blocks. The block on content not child friendly will be dropped after 9PM, but pornography will still not be accessible. For that, users will need to log-in to their Sky account and manually disable the “feature”.

Sky hasn't announced an official launch date for this new filtering scheme, but loosely claims it will happen in 2016. It has said it will also be contacting previous customers – those who signed up since November 2013 – asking them if they don't want the filter in place. Users will have to respond if they want to stop it being applied to them too.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: This is so ridiculous. It smacks of toadying up to Theresa May and her Snooper's Charter rather than protecting anyone from anything. It's not the job of an ISP to protect people's children anyway. Especially when its methods have been shown to block informative websites they might legitimately need to access

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Frankie Boyle takes Theresa May to task over government snooping https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/frankie-boyle-takes-theresa-may-to-task-over-government-snooping/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/frankie-boyle-takes-theresa-may-to-task-over-government-snooping/#respond Wed, 11 Nov 2015 12:40:26 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=274823 “We haven't had a Stasi or a Gestapo in Britain, so are intellectually lazy about surveillance,” said Tory MP David Davis recently, and that's something a lot of people seem to agree with. Following the publishing of the draft version of the Investigatory Powers Bill, proposed by Theresa May last week, a number of people have …

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“We haven't had a Stasi or a Gestapo in Britain, so are intellectually lazy about surveillance,” said Tory MP David Davis recently, and that's something a lot of people seem to agree with. Following the publishing of the draft version of the Investigatory Powers Bill, proposed by Theresa May last week, a number of people have come out against its measures to track users online and one of them is famously controversy courting comedian, Frankie Boyle.

The problem, he claims, with the Investigatory Power's Bill – a revamped version of the “Snooper's Charter” which May failed to have legally ratified in 2013 – is that it makes criminals out of all of us and looks for suspicion under every stone. When you record everything anyone looks for online, it loses all context. A miss-type of “child prom,” or “bong making kit,” could land you on a list he argues, one that nobody wants to be on.

Also problematic are the lack of safeguards, he said. May previously said that many would be put in place, suggesting that only those with the official go-ahead would be allowed to read the stored communications, but has later backtracked to say that in “urgent” situations, authorities could skip over any form of judicial check.

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But it will be even worse if you tick other boxes already. “This bill will lead to every person of colour’s worst fear: more concerned white people. Because white people will soon be the only ones who can Google the history of Islamophobia without ending up spending a decade watching children’s TV at full volume in a variety of stress positions.”

It's overreaching he says, with a bizarre focus on terrorism, an act which he points out, has claimed the lives of just 56 British citizens in the past 10 years, while many other crimes cause much more harm to society – though of course they are not ideological in nature. Boyle suggests that thought crime may be the real focus of the future, especially when our every thoughts are recorded and stored for up to 12 months.

“The legislation seems to view [our internet history] as a list of actions, but it’s not. It’s a document that shows what we’re thinking about,” he said. “The government wants to know what we’ve been thinking about, and what could be more sinister than that? Perhaps we’ve got so involved in the false selves we project on social media that we’ve forgotten that our real selves, our private selves, are different [and] are worth saving.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: As much as Boyle's piece has a few gags thrown in to keep it a little light, what he's discussing is so very dark. Maintaining a collection of our searches as if that incriminates us for anything is absurd and for some reason many people see it as a great method for catching some of the most nefarious people in the world. It doesn't. It won't. It just makes criminals of the rest of us.

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Draft Investigatory Powers Bill will have ISPs record customer data https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/draft-investigatory-powers-bill-will-have-isps-record-customer-data/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/draft-investigatory-powers-bill-will-have-isps-record-customer-data/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2015 09:12:23 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=274089 One of the big issues privacy campaigners and some ministers had with the ‘Snooper's Charter' or as it was officially termed, the Draft Communications Data Bill, was that it would have made it mandatory for ISPs to record their customer's online actions for up to 12 months. While that was shot down when Nick Clegg dropped …

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One of the big issues privacy campaigners and some ministers had with the ‘Snooper's Charter' or as it was officially termed, the Draft Communications Data Bill, was that it would have made it mandatory for ISPs to record their customer's online actions for up to 12 months. While that was shot down when Nick Clegg dropped his support in 2013, that clause is back, with the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill set to be unveiled today, expected to have that very same clause in it.

Home secretary Theresa May, who pushed for that surveillance measure in the original bill, has gunned for it ever since it was shot down, stating soon after the Conservatives returned to power that she wanted ISPs move involved in the policing process. This bill has also received the backing of several police forces and David Cameron, who called the Investigatory Powers Bill one of the most important pieces of legislation of his government, as per the BBC.

However organisations like the European Court of Human Rights have ruled that mass data retention without suspicion is in breach of human rights. Home grown bodies like the Open Rights Group too have called for such powers to not come to pass, highlighting that there is a huge potential for abuse when evidence is collected before suspicion.

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British intelligence agencies have been on a pro-PR run lately, trying to assuage any concerns about their activities. Source: Wikimedia

Backing ministers and police however have said that safeguards would be in place, preventing misuse of the data. They also highlighted that only the sites that people visit will be recorded, not the content they access on them. For that it will be able to contact those site owners to receive more information if required.

Of course any time data on anything is stored somewhere, there is also the danger that someone other than those intended will access it. Hacks at major companies over the past year would suggest that no data is 100 per cent safe. However to combat anyone thinking of looking at the data held by ISPs without due process, Theresa May plans to introduce a new law alongside the bill, which would give a two year prison sentence to anyone found accessing the data without lawful authority.

The Investigatory Powers Bill will be unveiled later today and will be debated in both Houses or Parliament before being voted on whether to bring it into practice in 2016.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It seems so naive to assume that anyone performing any actions worth tracking won't be using plenty of obfuscating technologies to make the recording of data at the ISP level largely useless. 

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Theresa May: Conservatives will reintroduce Snooper’s Charter https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/theresa-may-conservatives-will-reintroduce-snoopers-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/theresa-may-conservatives-will-reintroduce-snoopers-charter/#comments Fri, 08 May 2015 08:05:36 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=248544 Although the last 12 hours of British politics have been surprising and tumultuous right across the country, it seems clear at this point that the Conservatives will remain in power and will by all likelihood, have a confirmed majority in government before long. That means that many of its plans will now come to fruition …

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Although the last 12 hours of British politics have been surprising and tumultuous right across the country, it seems clear at this point that the Conservatives will remain in power and will by all likelihood, have a confirmed majority in government before long. That means that many of its plans will now come to fruition and Theresa May has already confirmed many of them, including that the party will be likely to vote in a new version of the previously rejected Snooper's Charter.

The Draft Communications Data Bill, often nicknamed the Snooper's Charter for what its opponents consider to be invasive monitoring, would force British internet service providers to keep records on their customers for 12 months at a time. That would include all metadata relating to phone calls, emails, social networking and even online gaming habits, just in-case it might be required for a criminal investigation. While previous attempts to bring it to bear were blocked by the Liberal Democrats and other interested parties, that is unlikely to happen if/when the Conservatives try again.

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Much like GCHQ's already existing data retention scheme, Tempora, the information collection system is said by many to be in breach of the public's human right to privacy. However, that may not be a claim that can be made for much longer, as one of the pre-election promises that it seems likely the Conservatives will also push to make come true, is pulling the UK from the European Convention of Human Rights, and instead drafting up a new British Bill of Human Rights. The contents of such a bill would likely side step the legal issues with such spying schemes.

Discuss on out Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: The Snooper's Charter doesn't give the government access to much more information than it already has, but it makes the ISPs culpable in that data retention and could very well foster distrust in the British tech sector as the NSA spying claims did in the US.

Image source: Tmay

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Pirate Party attacks attempt to sneak through Snooper’s Charter https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/pirate-party-attacks-attempt-to-sneak-through-snoopers-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/pirate-party-attacks-attempt-to-sneak-through-snoopers-charter/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:25:13 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=232194 A proposal put in place by a group of lords for changes to the counter-terrorism bill, currently set for debate on Monday next week, has attempted to sneak in many measures from what was branded the “Snooper's Charter,” with the hope that they can pass it before the next general election in May. As expected, …

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A proposal put in place by a group of lords for changes to the counter-terrorism bill, currently set for debate on Monday next week, has attempted to sneak in many measures from what was branded the “Snooper's Charter,” with the hope that they can pass it before the next general election in May. As expected, this has caused condemnation with privacy advocates, as the changes would require ISPs to store the contents and meta-data of customer communications for at least a year and possibly more, if it may be used in a court case.

Of course debating such things is what parliament and the house of lords is supposed to be for, but what's worrying is that the cross-party group of lords is attempting to pass this bill before reports on the necessity of such actions have been completed. Currently reports are being put together on terrorist legislation by the Intelligence and Security Committee and by independent David Anderson, to decide if current law is strong enough to help keep Britain safe. But despite them being incomplete, the lords want to push these changes through anyway.

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Kaye will be running for PPUK during the general election in Manchest Central

Lord Carlile told the Guardian: “We have taken the view that if the head of the security service and the current Metropolitan police commissioner argue that these powers are needed urgently to retain communications data due to changes in technology, then we needed to act now rather than wait for reports that we do not know when they will be completed. We have got to give parliament an opportunity to provide these powers without delay and before the general election.”

One of the most vocal opponents of this move, is leader of the Pirate Party UK, Loz Kaye, who said in a statement: “This attempt to sneak through the Snoopers' Charter is an outrageous attack on democracy. Clearly the supporters of mass surveillance are afraid of debate. Rushing through complex legislation like this is reckless.”

He also criticised the way in which politicians and members of the house of lords, seemed to be using terrorist attacks as an excuse to limit freedoms, rather than seeing them as a reason to celebrate the freedoms that separate our country from the one which terrorist cells would like to create.

“Tragic events have been cynically exploited again and again to push for the return of the Snoopers' Charter. But if the horrendous events in Paris can teach us anything, the dismantling of our privacy and freedoms will not make us safer,” he said.

He also urged members of the public to write to their MP, to threaten that if they support the counter-terrorism bill and its Snooper's Charter amendments, that they would find another candidate.

For reference, anyone wishing to contact their MP can do so here.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: It's so insulting that lords and politicians continually try to sneak laws through on the backs of other legislation. Doubly so in this instance when it seems that they want to get it done before the reports come back, suggesting that they may argue against more draconian legislation.

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Nick Clegg to attack ‘Snooper’s Charter’ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/nick-clegg-to-attack-snoopers-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/security-software/jon-martindale/nick-clegg-to-attack-snoopers-charter/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2015 09:06:00 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=230221 Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is set to outline his and his party's continued distaste for the nicknamed, “Snooper's Charter,” after PM David Cameron announced that last week's terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine was a sign we needed greater digital security. The “Snooper's Charter,” or rather, the Draft Communication Data …

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Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg is set to outline his and his party's continued distaste for the nicknamed, “Snooper's Charter,” after PM David Cameron announced that last week's terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine was a sign we needed greater digital security.

The “Snooper's Charter,” or rather, the Draft Communication Data Bill, was initially proposed by Home Secretary Theresa May in 2012 and would have forced ISPs and telecoms companies to record the content – as well as meta data – of phone calls, emails, social networking messages and instant messages, for 12 months. The bill was shut down by the Liberal Democrats at the time, but now that David Cameron has said he will push through a new version of the bill if re-elected in May. Now Nick Clegg in turn, has reiterated that as long as his party has power, they will block such a bill.

“We do not make ourselves safer by making ourselves less free,” Clegg said (via BBC).

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At a speech taking place later today, Clegg is expected to drive home this point, saying: “The irony appears to be lost on some politicians who say in one breath that they will defend freedom of expression and then, in the next, advocate a huge encroachment on the freedom of all British citizens.”

He will say that he thinks it's ok to invade the privacy of potential terrorists, but that we shouldn't consider every member of the public as a potential criminal on the off-chance that they are. He will describe the “Snooper's Charter,” as not “accurate or proportionate enough.”

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: If anything can be taken from the attacks in Paris last week, it's that solidarity is the correct response. Politicians and citizens marched to show that they are unafraid of terrorists. Reactionary legislation is just the kind of thing that perpetrators of these sorts of horrific attacks want. They want to divide us. Making us all feel like criminals is a great way to do that.

Image source: National Assembly for Wales

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NZ Prime Minister vs Kim Dotcom, who you got? https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/nz-prime-minister-vs-kim-dotcom-who-you-got/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/nz-prime-minister-vs-kim-dotcom-who-you-got/#comments Mon, 01 Jul 2013 10:23:52 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=140509 Internet mogul Kim Dotcom is set to go head to head with New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, this Wednesday, in an intelligence and security committee to discuss potential changes to the GCSB bill, which would give the intelligence agency increased powers for surveillance of NZ citizens. Essentially, it would legalise the type of unlawful …

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Internet mogul Kim Dotcom is set to go head to head with New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, this Wednesday, in an intelligence and security committee to discuss potential changes to the GCSB bill, which would give the intelligence agency increased powers for surveillance of NZ citizens. Essentially, it would legalise the type of unlawful spying of Dotcom, that took place before his arrest in January 2012.

Dotcom made the initial announcement of his attendance, speaking out against changes to the bill and also issuing a challenge to John Key, suggesting that he wouldn't attend: “I'm in parliament July 3 telling the security and intelligence committee why the new GCSB bill is wrong,” he said via his Twitter account. “I bet Key won't show.”

It's a public hearing too, so there will be plenty of people observing the committee meeting, to which Dotcom has suggested many people attend: “please come,” he said, “you'll love it.”

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It's on. Be there, or be spied upon. 

He also described the bill as one that wasn't designed to benefit New Zealand citizens, but in-fact US  authorities, who he believes are behind such surveillance legislation. With good reason too, since there is a lot of evidence that American officials had a lot to do with his arrest and the seizure of his property. The warrant issued for Dotcom's arrest and the spying perpetrated against him during the build up towards the raid on his home, were also found to be invalid under current NZ law.

As it stands, the bill requires one more vote to pass, which Dotcom and others will be hoping to prevent this Wednesday. If you want to attend, the event details can be found here.

KitGuru Says: It seems very shortsighted of the NZ governmmentt to try and push through a surveillance bill when so much criticism is being thrown America's way because of the PRISM scandal. And here, with Tempora and that Snooper's Charter. 

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Despite public hate for PRISM, British MPs still want snooper charter https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/despite-public-hate-for-prism-british-mps-still-want-snooper-charter/ https://www.kitguru.net/channel/jon-martindale/despite-public-hate-for-prism-british-mps-still-want-snooper-charter/#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:01:41 +0000 http://www.kitguru.net/?p=138599 PRISM has been a major story across tech blogs the world over in recent days. In the wake of it we've seen a lot of reactions: Anonymous got mad and starting firing off hacks and leaked documents and people have signed petitions asking for amnesty for the NSA leaker Edward Snowden, but despite all this, several …

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PRISM has been a major story across tech blogs the world over in recent days. In the wake of it we've seen a lot of reactions: Anonymous got mad and starting firing off hacks and leaked documents and people have signed petitions asking for amnesty for the NSA leaker Edward Snowden, but despite all this, several members of parliament have decided now is the time to try and push through the UK's own “Snooper's Carter.”

The MPs in question are: Jack Straw, David Blunkett, Alan Johnson and Conservative Lord Baker, all of whom have lobbied Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, urging him to stop blocking the Communications Data Bill, for what they call “coalition niceties.”

Now Nick Clegg is hardly a popular fellow to support, but in this instance he's blocking the introduction of a bill that would see digital companies forced to retain information on customers that could be completely irrelevant to their business, just in-case the government wants to look into them. That's everyone as well, not just people suspected of criminal activity.

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No kidding…

Understandably, leader of the Pirate Party UK, Loz Kaze, isn't happy. He said: “[These MPs] need to remember that the Snoopers' Charter was not rejected because of “niceties” as they put it. It was rejected because the parliament committee scrutinising it found that the claims for its benefits were “fanciful and misleading”, and that it had “insufficient attention to the duty to respect the right to privacy, and goes much further than it need or should”. It was not just a question of fixing a few glitches, the whole approach was fundamentally wrong.”

He goes on to suggest that attempting to push through the Snooper's Charter in the wake of the PRISM revelations and the public outcry, shows just how out of touch these politicians are.

“They talk of protecting the public but won't. We should be protecting British citizens from US spying. We should be protecting taxpayers from committing billions to a programme with no proven benefits and many risks. We should be protecting the public from unwarranted intrusion. That's what the Pirate Party stands for even if yesterday's politicians don't.”

KitGuru Says: This Snooper's Charter should be opposed as much as CISPA, SOPA, PIPA and all that other tripe that governments have tried to force on us in the past couple of years. Hopefully this one will fail just as spectacularly. 

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