Government stands firm over RIP bill

The government's new e-envoy Alex Allen has defended its controversial RIP bill.

Speaking at the summer reception of the Associated Parliamentary Internet Group, Allen said the bill's intention was good and its application would be regulated through a code of practice.

"You need safeguards, but the concerns of civil rights groups are exaggerated," he said. "They talk about reversed burden of proof, but the prosecution must still prove that network managers had encryption keys to start with."

Meanwhile, he admitted that it was too difficult for e-businesses to conduct cross-border business, and also explained the IT project, e-government, which aims to set up web presence for departmental services and bring central services online. "It is a challenging project," he said.