Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) and telecom companies had
previously expressed fears that they would bear the financial
burden of the anti-terrorism measures. The DTI hopes that opening
the matter for consultation will allay these worries and meet the
“need for all of us to get this right and get it right quickly.”
The government sought to reassure businesses that there will be
no mandatory requirement on service providers and that measures
will be implemented via a voluntary code of practice. The Home
office emphasised that they hoped anti-terrorism measures could be
approached in a spirit of co-operation, “the government is
committed to working with communication service providers to ensure
our ant-terrorism law is effective.”
However, a spokesman for the Confederation of British Industry
(CBI) outlined that this would not entirely eradicate industry
concerns, “we welcome the voluntary code of practice, but, in
reality, what sort of pressures will be applied to make sure the
industry complies? The industry wants to help in the fight against
terrorism, but we’re not entirely convinced this is going to
provide a significant contribution.”
Although a code of practice is yet to be drafted, it is expected
to include details of the types of data which should be retained,
how long it should be held and the access to be made available to
law enforcement authorities.
