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              | Date: 2000-06-12 
 
 UK: Berners-Lee zu ENFOPOL neu-.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.-
 
 q/depesche  00.6.12/1
 
 UK: Berners-Lee zu ENFOPOL reginonal
 
 Tim Berners-Lee, personaliter & gewichtsmäßig nicht weiter
 kommentierbar über die RIP-Bill im UK - der bisher treuesten
 nationalen Umsetzung von ENFOPOL
 
 post/skrypt: Am Werke sind mit dem UK wieder einemal die
 Eif/rigsten der Ei/frigen in Europa - erstaunlich. Die erz- haupt
 & staats/hegelianische Nation Nummer 1 FR  wird sich neu
 deklarieren müssen im Zeitalter der tribalistischen
 Generalüberwachung. Ausgerufen von jenen, die nicht mal
 genau wissen, ob sie mehr Sachsen oder mehr Angeln sind.
 
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 Jamie Doward Sunday June 11, 2000
 
 Tim Berners-Lee, regarded as the father of the world wide
 web, has launched a blistering attack on government plans to
 give the security services sweeping powers to intercept
 emails and monitor traffic on the internet. The computer
 scientist who invented the technologies which underpin the
 web told The Observer that the Regulation of Investigatory
 Powers Bill would stifle the development of the internet.
 
 He said the Bill - now going through the House of Lords -
 would have been thrown out 'in a second' in the US. 'It gives a
 government great power to abuse personal and commercial
 innovation.'
 
 Once the Bill becomes law every internet service provider
 (ISP) in the UK will be required to install a link to the security
 services, whichwill then be able to monitor internet traffic.
 Security services will be able to find out which websites
 users look at, which pages they download, and which
 chatrooms or discussion groups they frequent.
 
 Even more controversially, the Bill gives the Home Secretary
 the power to demand the surrender of keys to en-crypted
 data - a proposal which has been fiercely criticised by civil
 liberties and business organisations alike.
 
 Other campaigners have pointed out that the Bill does not
 recognise the global nature of the internet and is therefore
 doomed to failure.
 
 Berners-Lee believes the Bill fails to make governments
 accountable for their actions: 'There's very little protection.
 There's no recourse if your information has been pilfered by
 the Government, and even if it comes to light there is very
 little you can do.'
 
 He is also concerned that third parties will be unable to
 monitor the authorities' actions: 'Is there any way the press
 can ever find out to what extent this is happening? Is there
 any independent agency which has the right to follow up
 every request and find out statistically to what extent some of
 these things were just abuses of power?'
 
 Some commentators claim that an unregulated internet is far
 more dangerous than the threat of a strong-armed
 Government. They cite the example of David Copeland,
 currently being tried at the Old Bailey for causing bomb
 explosions in London, who allegedly found out how to make
 bombs on the web.
 
 But Berners-Lee argues that you cannot shoot the
 messenger. 'The internet is an enabling technology.
 Information has always been powerful and suddenly we have
 a much more powerful information tool, and this poses
 challenges to society to use it for good rather than bad.'
 
 His attack comes days after the Bill was attacked by the
 Institute of Directors. Professor Jim Norton, head of e-
 business policy, expressed fears that the Bill could be
 interpreted too broadly - giving government excessive powers
 and even forcing companies to move abroad.
 
 'Is it really the intention to provide Inland Revenue or VAT
 inspectors or DTI company investigators with these powers?'
 he said. Many companies were worried, 'especially
 multinationals who contrast the proposed UK legislation with
 far more business-friendly proposals in Ireland, France,
 Germany and even the US.'
 
 The Government will come under further pressure later this
 week when the London School of Economics releases a
 research paper highly critical of the Bill. The paper -
 commissioned by the British Chamber of Commerce - will
 argue that the Bill risks inflicting serious damage to both
 business and civil liberties
 
 More
 http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,330725,00.html
 
 
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 edited by Harkank
 published on: 2000-06-12
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