The Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Data Bill has issued a “call for evidence” to get the public’s views on the draft Bill. The draft Bill would allow public bodies, such as the security agencies and the police, to access information relating to communications data. 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 call for evidence asks members of the public to respond to a number of questions about the draft Bill, including in relation to data retention, intrusion into privacy and possibilities for circumvention. The closing data to provide responses is 23rd August 2012.