UK legislation on privacy and the news

Timeline created by shonaghosh in Politics

Timeline Text view

Event Date:	Event Title:	Event Description:
05/04/1999	UK has more CCTVs than any other country	BBC coverage Per capita there are more surveillance cameras in the UK than any other country in the world - more than a million according to one recent estimate.
07/26/2000	RIPA	The Act UK Govt passes the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to allow interception of communications, access to communications data, access to encrypted information and the use of human intelligence gatherers. By 2009, relevant authorities included the police, the intelligence services, fraud investigators, government departments and local authorities.
10/24/2000	Employers may read e-mails under RIPA	Read BBC coverage of employer snooping powers Employers may use RIPA powers to spy on their workers, saying they are monitoring staff computers for viruses
10/27/2000	EU investigates RIPA as possible breach of human rights	The Register EU investigates as the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (2000) may be a violation of the right to privacy.
06/18/2002	More public bodies allowed to spy without warrant	The government announces that more public bodies will have access to communications data without a warrant under RIPA
01/28/2003	ECHR rules CCTV suicide a breach of privacy	Guardian coverage The ECHR ruling that CCTV footage of a man's suicide attempt being sold to the national media was a breach of his privacy may lead to new privacy laws.
11/10/2003	470 privacy complaints - none upheld	Read the coverageInvestigatory Powers Tribunal receives 470 complaints and upholds none
11/23/2004	ID cards bill announced in Queen's speech
01/21/2006	24,000 innocent children on DNA database	Read coverage Police are keeping DNA records of anyone arrested, even if they are later released without charge.
03/30/2006	Identity Cards Act 2006
11/29/2006	NotW royal editor guilty of spying under RIPA	Read Guardian coverage Clive Goodman was charged under RIPA for spying on the royal family
03/12/2008	Phorm questioned by rights campaigners	Read BBC coverage Phorm comes under fire as 2000 petitioners sign for further invetigation into the adware company.
04/11/2008	Poole Borough Council spy on residents	Read BBC coverage Poole Borough Council place a family under weeks of surveillance under RIPA...to see if they were cheating the state school system.
04/27/2008	Councils use RIPA to catch dog-foulers	BBC coverage Councils across the UK admitted to using RIPA to catch littering residents and the misuse of parking badges.
09/23/2008	Phone tapping a breach of privacy	Guardian coverage EHCR rules that phone tapping laws breach human right to privacy
10/23/2008	Phorm conducts secret trials	BT customers are tracked by the adware company without consent.
12/04/2008	ECHR rules DNA database breach of privacy	BBC coverageThe European Court of Human Rights has ruled that keeping the profiles of those who have been arrested but released without charge is a breach of their rights.
01/05/2009	Police can hack PC's without warrant	Independent coverage Police may 'hack' or track computers at a distance without a warrant under RIPA.
02/13/2009	All comms data to be held by ISPs	Guardian coverage Details (not content) of phone calls, e-mails and texts to be held by communications services for 12 months.
04/14/2009	Europe sues UK over Phorm	Register coverage The European Commission reveals plans to sue over covert trials of Phorm by BT and other service providers.
04/27/2009	Intercept Modernisation Programme consultation launched
08/25/2009	Internet cutoff for file-sharers	Guardian coverage Illegal filesharers may lose their internet connections in draconian measures introduced by Peter Mandelson.
09/08/2009	Launch of child safety	Telegraph coverageLaunch of the Independent Safeguarding Authority to assess the suitability of those working with children.