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The immanent introduction of the 'Regulation
of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill' in October 2000 has served to raise a number
of questions regarding civil liberty. Addressing the issue of encryption and
access to encrypted data, not covered in the Electronic Commerce Bill, the government
sees the RIP Bill as a means of protecting national security, preventing crime
and securing public health. Charles Clarke from the Home Office says: "The
Bill tackles a big issue - the balance between protecting individual rights
and ensuring that effective powers are in place to catch criminals". The
bill ensures that every ISP will have a black box that monitors all the data
traffic passing through its computers, hard wired to a special centre installed
in M15s London HQ. The Home Secretary therefore has the power to issue warrants
to the ISPs to intercept communications of subscribers. It is becoming increasingly
apparent that commercial forces are shaping the architecture of the Internet
and that the commercial potential of the Internet will not develop until such
architecture is in place. These developments are posing novel trade-offs between
law enforcement, commercial progress and individual liberty (privacy).
The use of customer information is at the heart of the debate, given the increase
in online purchase power wielded by consumers, meaning that vendors will have
access to rich profiles of shopping and buying patterns. Verdict's latest research
indicates that by 2005, shoppers will spend more than £12.5 billion online.
The success of e-commerce companies will therefore become a question of public
trust, especially given the recent case against Double Click, which were found
to be fusing two databases without the knowledge of their customers.
There is the fear that increased costs will be born by individual business,
due to an impending increase in the number of civil liberty cases taken up by
consumers regarding data abuse. There is also the additional danger that Tony
Blair's vision of the UK being the global hot bed of e-commerce by 2002 is under
threat, with companies moving to Ireland where encryption keys are protected
from the government. Business however, needs a secure environment in which to
trade and consumers need a degree of reassurance during digital transaction.
matt@folkdevil.com
© Matt Hardisty, 2000, 2001. All Rights Reserved,