The new rules compel phone companies to retain information, however private, about all landline and mobile calls, and make them available to some 795 public bodies and quangos.

But the same powers will also be handed to the tax authorities, 475 local councils,
 
The initiative, formulated in the wake of .......terrorist attacks, was put forward as a vital tool in the fight against terrorism. However, civil liberties campaigners say the new powers amount to a 'free for all' for the State snooping on its citizens.
Records will detail precisely what calls are made, their time and duration, and the name and address of the registered user of the phone.

The files will even reveal where people are when they made mobile phone calls. By knowing which mast transmitted the signal, officials will be able to pinpoint the source of a call to within a few feet. This can even be used to track someone's route if, for example, they make a call from a moving car.

Files will also be kept on the sending and receipt of text messages.

By 2009 the Government plans to extend the rules to cover internet use: the websites we have visited, the people we have emailed and phone calls made over the net.
 

The new laws will make it a legal requirement for phone companies to keep records for at least a year, and to make them available to the authorities.

Big Brother Britain: Government and councils to spy on ALL our phones | the Daily Mail
 
 

Maranatha!
Deborah
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