Giant UK communications database could be managed privately
A private company could be asked to run a huge database containing details of all telephone calls, emails and internet use, it has been reported. The option to tender out the management of the database will be included in a consultation paper to be published next month, according to the Guardian.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said access to such data was key to fighting terrorism but with proper safeguards. Critics have said the idea poses a serious threat to civil liberties.
The database, which critics claim would cost up to £12bn, is not intended to record the content of communications, but only the details of internet sites visited and what emails and telephone calls have been made, to whom and at what times. Currently the information has to be requested from communications companies and internet service providers, but it is not always readily available.
On the issue of private sector involvement in the database, government sources said the consultation had not begun and it was premature to speculate on what it would contain and what the outcome would be.
As for the database itself, the home secretary said the UK had to adapt to technological changes if it wanted to get access to data necessary to fighting terrorism and organised crime effectively.
Tags: Government, privacy
