'Snooping Bill' slammed over privacy issues

The UK government's controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill has been attacked by leading industry lobbyists for threatening individuals' privacy rights.

The Bill - which gets its second reading in Parliament today - outlines the powers police will have to intercept and monitor electronic communications.

But the legislation has caused concern among industry and privacy lobbyists, who are worried about strengthening police powers, and the impact that may have on the protection of consumer data.

Simon Davies, director general of the Privacy International Group, said: "There are so many dangers in this Bill it's hard to list them. But I doubt the government are going to compromise on this one."

The London Internet Exchange (Linx), which represents the UK ISP community, is worried they will be forced to shoulder the high cost of monitoring the Internet as proposed by the Bill.

But Keith Mitchell, chairman of Linx, said: "There have been some indications from Home Office minister Charles Clarke that there could be changes afoot."

The Home Office was unable to comment on the responses at the time of publication, but has in the past described the privacy group's protests as "hysteria".