Reply to post: What about the future use?

What about the future use?

One of the major issues with this and other similar legislation brought in for police / security reasons is what happens when those responsible for bringing it in realise that it has cost a fortune to set up and / or run and is not actually producing anything near the benefits it was claimed to bring. So then the system is opened up for other Government or quasi government organisation to use “to maximise benefits”. So next thing the Tax authorities get permission to use the snooping facility and staff to root out suspected tax dodging builders, plumbers, car mechanics etc. who prefer to deal occasionally in cash and maybe avoid VAT payments (whether they are using encrypted correspondence or not). As a customer on their contact list suddenly all your correspondence is being monitored as well. Think about CCTV as a parallel. They were initially brought in to make people feel secure by acting as a deterrent or means to solve crime. In practice a current part of their use is for catching motorists who commit the cardinal sin of stopping for a few seconds in a prohibited area to drop off or pick up a passenger or goods without causing any delay to other road users or danger to pedestrians and other relatively minor traffic parking offences. These cameras are operated by staff from private companies with little training other than “if you see a car on a yellow line or in a bus or cycle lane report it” and nothing is taken into account of what the actual effects are on other road users or mitigating circumstances. They also have access to DVLA systems to trace vehicles from registration numbers. Other “security” legal provisions such as RIPA have allegedly been used in the past by Councils to inspect domestic waste to ensure it is in the right recycle bin, follow dog walkers to check they are clearing up properly etc. etc. That may have been reeled in somewhat now but officialdom will continue to look for opportunities to make their lives easier. By requesting powers to set up back doors into mainline encrypted services the powers that be are presumably already confident that they have the right to read all other non encrypted stuff. Or are they saying that only criminals and terrorists use encrypted correspondence and therefore need to be monitored? Think on – it is 5 years down the line we basically honest citizens need to be worried about.