british government A controversial surveillance technology capable of recording and storing the web histories of millions of people is quietly being expanded and developed.
Over the past year, British police have deemed tests of a system that would collect “records of internet connections” of people successful and have begun work on its possible introduction across the country, official reports and spending documents show. If implemented, it could provide law enforcement with a powerful surveillance tool.
Critics say the system is highly intrusive and that officials have a history of improperly protecting people’s data. Much of the technology and its operation is classified, and the agency declined to answer questions about the system.
In late 2016, the UK government passed the Investigative Powers Act, an overhaul of the country’s surveillance and hacking powers. The law adds rules on what law enforcement and intelligence agencies can do and access, but it has been widely criticized for its impact on people’s privacy, earning it the title of “Snooper’s Charter.”
Particularly controversial is the creation of so-called Internet Connection Records (ICRs). Under the law, internet providers and phone companies can be ordered – subject to a senior judge’s approval of the decision – to store people’s browsing history for 12 months.
ICR is not a list of every online page you visit, but it can reveal a lot of information about your online activities. For example, an ICR could include that you visited Wired.com but not that you read this article. ICR may also be your IP address, customer number, date and time of access to the information and the amount of data transferred. The UK government said internet connection records could show when the travel app EasyJet was accessed on someone’s phone, but not how the app was used.
“The ICR is highly intrusive and should prevent telecom operators and intelligence agencies from overreserving,” said Nour Haidar, a lawyer and legal officer at Privacy International, a British civil liberties group that has been challenging data collection and processing under investigative powers in court. action.
Little is known about the development and use of ICRs. When the Investigative Powers Act was passed, internet companies said they would spend years building the systems needed to collect and store ICRs. However, some of these parts may be falling into place now. In February, the Home Office, the government department that oversees security and policing in the UK, published a mandatory review of how the Investigative Powers Act has worked so far.
The review said the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) had tested the “operational, functional and technical aspects” of the ICR and found that collecting records had “significant operational advantages”. A small trial “focused” on sites offering illegal images of children found that 120 people had visited the sites. It found that only “four” of those individuals were known to law enforcement based on “intelligence checks.”
