The Register or the Daily Mail
I was surprised to see ElReg towing the Daily Mail line about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act being an anti-terrorism law. For one thing it was passed in 2000 - before 9/11 and it was to deal with a technical way in which UK law had been held not comply with European Human Rights Law.
Under UK law surveillance in public places has always been lawful by members of the public and by state emploiyees, but the European Court decided that for surveillance by state employees there should be an authorisation procedure. So RIPA has introduced a framework giving state employees permission to do things that anyone in the country could already authorise anyway.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
