ISP users run scared of snooping laws

Internet service providers (ISPs) may be forced to relocate their servers to avoid wide-ranging snooping powers given to police in the anti-terrorism bill and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act.

The warning came from ISPs concerned that law enforcement agencies will be able to use clauses in RIP to access data stored to meet the requirements of David Blunkett's anti-terrorism bill.

Under sections of RIP yet to be enacted, various government bodies will get access to data stored by ISPs for a wide range of reasons, including national security, crime prevention and tax collection.

Steve Rawlinson, managing director at London-based ISP ClaraNet, claimed that ISPs would locate more hosting infrastructure outside the UK to guarantee confidentiality of data to business customers.

"We don't have a problem helping fight terrorism but the police will now be able to pop round whenever they want," he said. "We have users in financial services asking us to locate their sites outside the UK because their clients regard their transactions as confidential."

The government has claimed that the data retention proposals announced last month were never meant to be restricted to anti-terrorist cases.