Britain mulls plan to store all emails and calls

Britain is considering a massive government database to store the e-mails, Internet information, phone-calls and text messages of all residents to help security forces in the fight against crime and terrorism.

At the moment, records of phone-calls and text messages are kept up to 12 months by telecoms companies in compliance with an EU anti-terrorism directive.

But a new Home Office (Interior Ministry) proposal would see Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies handing over records containing billions of e-mails as well as Internet usage and voice-over-Internet calls, media reports said on Tuesday.

Police and security services would be able to have access to the information after seeking permission from the courts.

The Home Office said communication methods had changed rapidly during the past 15 years.

"The changes to the way we communicate, due particularly to the Internet revolution, will increasingly undermine our current capabilities to obtain communications data and use it to protect the public," it said in a statement.

"To ensure that our public authorities and law enforcement agencies can continue to use this valuable tool, the government is planning to bring forward the Communications Data Bill."

The draft bill is expected to be released later in the year, but the plan has yet to be discussed by ministers.

It is likely to raise concerns about civil liberties and data protection.

About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated three billion e-mails are sent every day, The Times reported.

The government is already planning huge databases for the ID cards schemes and NHS patients' records.

英国政府目前正考虑建立一个储存所有国民电子邮件、互联网信息、电话记录及短信的庞大数据库，以帮助安全部门打击犯罪和恐怖主义。

根据欧盟一项反恐指令的要求，目前英国的通讯公司需保存12个月的电话和短信记录。

但据媒体本周二消息，根据英国内政部的一项最新提案，（除上述资料外，）互联网服务提供商（ISPs）和电讯公司以后还需提供数十亿电子邮件、互联网使用信息及网络电话记录等数据资料。

警方和安全部门获得法庭批准后，即可查阅这些资料。

英国内政部称，人们的通讯方式在过去15年中变化很快。

该机构在一份声明中说：“由互联网革命引起的通讯方式的变化将日益影响我们现有的获取通讯数据并利用其保护公众安全的能力。”

“为了保证我们的安全部门和执法机构能继续利用这一宝贵工具来保护公众安全，政府计划推出《通讯数据法案》。”

通讯数据草案预计将于今年晚些时候公布，但目前该计划还未提交各部大臣讨论。

该计划可能会引起有关公民自由及数据保护的担忧。

据《泰晤士报》报道，去年英国人共发送约570亿条短信，平均每天约发送30亿封邮件。

此前，英国政府已着手建立有关身份证计划和全国健康服务系统病人档案的庞大数据库。