No dialogue on Internet legislation

Later this month, the government will forge ahead with controversial encryption and Internet wire-tapping legislation with no further consultation with the IT industry, the minister responsible has confirmed.

Home Office minister Charles Clarke says current wire-tapping laws must be replaced soon, before they conflict with human rights legislation due to come into effect in October.

The legislation is contained in a bill, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, which includes long-standing proposals to allow the police to demand access to encrypted data, which must be decrypted. The bill has provoked industry opposition.

'So far, the issues have been misunderstood,' said Richard Clayton, internet expert at leading Internet service provider Demon Internet. 'I'm very disappointed there's not going to be another round of consultation. Let's hope we see a wonderful bill with no flaws in it.'

Demon says the wire-tapping legislation already outlined by the government will add 10% to 15% to its running costs.

'I'm not in the least reassured to hear there'll be no further consultation,' said Caspar Bowden, director of technology think tank the Foundation for Information Policy Research. Police will be able to prosecute for failure to hand over encryption keys. Those charged, such as IT managers, will have to prove they do not have the keys. Expert legal opinion has warned that the decryption proposals will contravene the forthcoming human rights legislation.

'The bill will be laid before the House in January,' said Clarke, who revealed little of its details. 'You'll have to decide whether it's surprising,' he said. The Home Office has been in detailed discussions about general technical developments with a range suppliers, including BT, Vodafone, Intel and Cisco. Those companies took the opportunity to 'raise particular concerns on the bill', Clarke said.

Bowden said that large suppliers appear to have the most access to the Home Office's thinking. Clarke said he hopes the bill will become law by July.