Among other matters, the RIP Act included powers that allow notices to be served on telcos, ISPs and postal operators to obtain information such as the name and address of users, the phone numbers they call, the source and destination of e-mails, the identity of web sites viisted and mobile phone location data.
These powers have not yet been brought into force. It now seems that they will be amended before being introduced, to extend the range of bodies that will have access to the data.
Ian Brown, Director of think tank the Foundation for Information Policy Research commented:
"I am appalled at this huge increase in the scope of Government snooping. Two years ago, we were deeply concerned that these powers were to be given to the police without any judicial oversight. Now they're handing them out to a practically endless queue of bureaucrats in Whitehall and Town Halls."
The Act originally gave access to the following bodies: the police and other law enforcement and intelligence bodies, Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue.
The RIP (Communications Data: Additional Public Authorities) Order of 2002 extends this to include, among others: Departments of Health, Environment, Trade and Industry and Enterprise, the Home Office, local authorities and councils, the Financial Services Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Information Commissioner, the Office of Fair Trading and bodies regulated by the Postal Services Act, such as Consignia, formerly the Post Office.
Brown concluded:
"Which web sites we visit or where we travel with a mobile phone in our pocket reveals a great deal of personal information. Accessing this information needs to be made more difficult, not opened up to this huge range of new enquirers. I look at this list and wonder not at who they've added, but if I can possibly think of anyone they've left out."
The text of the draft Order, which is expected to be debated by the Commons on 18th June.
Update: This page has been removed from the HMSO site. However, the Google search engine did cache the page..