Should the government know which websites you visit?

Apr 02, 2012

A proposed new law would let the government see which websites people visited and who they called or emailed.

Most people assume that, as long as nobody’s looking over their shoulder or listening in, what they do online or on the phone is private. But that could change if a new law meant to prevent crime and terrorism is passed.

The law would allow the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to find out who a person had been sending emails to and what websites they had visited, although they would not be able to read emails without a warrant. The information would be available in real time, as well as being stored on a database for examination later.

At the moment, communcications can’t be monitored without the permission of a magistrate.

The government says that this information is vital for protecting the public from crime and attacks. But critics of the idea say that it is an invasion of privacy, and that criminals will be able to avoid the monitoring too easily for it to be useful.