Protecting the public in a changing communications environment
We set high standards for our police, security and emergency services in keeping us safe and bringing criminals to justice. But we also expect our right to privacy to be protected too. That balance is at the heart of this consultation.
For the police, the security and intelligence agencies, and other public authorities like the emergency services, being able to use the details about a communication – not its content, but when, how and to whom it was made – can make all the difference in their work to protect the public.
Governed by strict rules, communications data is routinely used to investigate terrorist plots, to bring to justice those guilty of serious crimes, to seize illegal drugs and to protect the vulnerable in our society. However, rapid changes to technology in the communications industry could have a profound effect on the use of communications data for these and other purposes. This consultation sets out these changes in some detail, and the government’s proposed response to them.
This consultation ended on 20 July 2009 and the government's response will be published later this year.
Thank you to all those who responded.
Date: Fri Apr 24 16:13:54 BST 2009
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