Police Want Access to Your Browsing History

[for fawkes sake]

So the Police want the power to access people's browsing history on their computers. I assume at some point we'll hear the tried and trusted 'if you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to worry about."

Whether or not this request gets through Parliament, it shows us the direction of the current mind-set.

[Hartlepudlion]

Personally I have no problem with this as long as it is only the police and the security services who are given this access on a need to know basis. Councils, councillors, NHS and any other organisation should be denied access. Councils in particular have abused access to common databases.

[for fawkes sake]

Personally I have no problem with this as long as it is only the police and the security services who are given this access on a need to know basis. Councils, councillors, NHS and any other organisation should be denied access. Councils in particular have abused access to common databases.

Such complacency. Of course, all Police are totally trustworthy - you only have to look at our own Cleveland Police to know that. 

We are talking about access to everyone's browsing history; not just those who are under suspicion. Unless you take the view that everyone is under suspicion, of course, in the same way as the SS, the Stasi and the KGB.

[The Great Dictator]

      I don't want them watching my porn stash 

[fred c]

A worrying thing in Hartlepool is.... on the say so of a tosspot councillor you could well end up with a visit from the cops, you would think that Cleveland Police would be far better looking off into the escapades of tosspot councillors.

[mk1]

When RIPA was introduced

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_of_Investigatory_Powers_Act_2000


it was meant to be used in cases of organised crime and terrorism investigations but we ended up with councils (like Hartlepool-one of the main offenders) using the act to spy on dog-walkers and to check who gets Mail delivered to an address they in case they are trying to get kids into the 'wrong' school. Hartlepool Council have a very pro-active policy of using RIPA  to spy on the names on delivered mail so they can then issue council tax demands in that name. They have been caught out  getting County Court Orders when the named person knows nothing at all about it. They have been placed under supervision because they made so many mistakes but they are still at it. . In reality we read of employees who operate the system using it to check up on ex wives and stalk them.
Whatever the good intentions at the start in the end it is always  used for far more than was intended.

[no6bus]

Surely your internet provider will already have your browsing history, so the information is already there

[mk1]

Surely your internet provider will already have your browsing history, so the information is already there

There are lots of things that firms have about us. However in this case it is another step in the states desire to track our every move and every action. The  dream of the security services is to log every persons movements and by cobbling together our bank, phone and computer  files they can construct a '1984' machine where they just put in your DOB and instantly find everything you have done in your entire life. I  realise they already do this through GHQ and all they want to do now is stop pretending they don't and use it openly.
Only an idiot believes such a power  will never be abused.

[Devils advocate]

There are plenty of ways to get around things.
Cyber criminals are quite often 2 steps ahead of the authorities.

[Devils advocate]

My previous post is logged as an ip address in Germany 176.9.25.72 via proxies.


And this post is logged as an ip address in Virginia USA    207.244.70.35 via Switzerland, Germany, India, Australia and then USA.

That is just bouncing off proxies, Then you have the onion router. lots of different options for people to use

[Land Phil]

Just think about things like the gun laws ...keeps guns out of the hands of the average person that is going through a divorce for example but out of the hands of a gangster, I think not.

[mk1]

There are plenty of ways to get around things.
Cyber criminals are quite often 2 steps ahead of the authorities.

If the software/hardware firms put backdoors into their products (proven to be the case) in order to help governments track you then you are never even close to being ahead of the game.