14 DAY TRIAL // The British government is getting ready to introduce a new bill that, in theory, would allow law enforcement agencies to access Internet browsing history without a warrant.
UK media is ablaze with stories of a new bill that Home Secretary Theresa May will introduce next week. If voted into law, this draft bill will force UK ISPs and telcos to store their clients' online history for at least a year. Besides online browsing history, call metadata is also to be preserved for the same amount of time.
A select few law enforcement agencies can access data without warrants
The bill contains articles that would also allow local police forces to snoop through a person's online history if they're under suspicion of having committed a crime.
Mrs. May says that all law enforcement agencies that want to access the online browsing history of UK citizens need to apply for judicial approval beforehand.
The agencies that can gain access to this type of data are the UK Police, the National Crime Agency, all intelligence agencies, and HM Revenue and Customs.
A first version of the bill failed in 2013
A similar version of this bill was voted down in 2013, when the Liberal Democrats in the Coalition decided to block it. If UK officials approve this new bill, Great Britain will be the first country in the world that allows warrantless searches of its citizen's Web browsing history.
Proponents of the current bill include the UK Security Service, MI6, and GCHQ. After Edward Snowden's recent revelations, we are not surprised that the GCHQ wants this bill approved.
As you can imagine, the general public is not one of its ardent supporters. Public polls on this proposed bill vary in numbers, but all show that UK citizens don't want it approved. Gone are the times when governments listened to its citizens.