The Government plans to introduce new laws to make it easier to see who is communicating with whom, as it became clear with the introduction of the Communications Data Bill in the Queen’s Speech. This would mean that the Government would have more ready access to the traffic data (including time and duration of a communication, who was communicating with whom) and location data rather than be delayed when having to access it from communications service providers.
The proposals have been attacked by some privacy campaigners including David Davis, who had resigned from the Shadow Cabinet when the Conservatives were in opposition to register his unhappiness over the increased march against people’s civil liberties. However, the Home Office claims that the changes are necessary to replace current laws that do not always work, and so as to enable law enforcement and intelligence agencies to access vital communications data. It said there would be strict safeguards in place.