INDUSTRY STILL SERIOUSLY CONCERNED AT RIP BILL
ISPA, AEB, LINX, BCC
14 July 2000
A broad group of industry representatives (ISPA, AEB, LINX and BCC), who together represent the operators, suppliers and many users of the Internet offers a cautious welcome to the changes to the RIP Bill and the government’s statements made in the debate in the Lords at the Report Stage of the Bill.
The industry appreciates the efforts made by both sides of the House to reduce the risk of damage by the Bill to both ‘UK Plc’ and the UK's Internet Industry, but still believes that the Bill has some flaws.
The Government statement that they have found £20 million to pay for the rolling out of interception capabilities is, at best, puzzling, since there is widespread industry agreement that the Home Office’s consultants’ report did not provide a technical basis for estimating the cost. We are seeking the government’s absolute confirmation that they will fund all relevant costs, as it is within their powers to do so. We have already told the Home Office that the following should be covered:
The Government statement that they have found £20 million to pay for the rolling out of interception capabilities is, at best, puzzling, since there is widespread industry agreement that the Home Office’s consultants’ report did not provide a technical basis for estimating the cost. We are seeking the government’s absolute confirmation that they will fund all relevant costs, as it is within their powers to do so. We have already told the Home Office that the following should be covered:
- Hardware and software
- Opportunity Cost
- IT (in the ISP) development time
- Planning and management
The industry’s view is that in the world’s fastest changing industry, the cost of upgrading an ISP’s interception capability may reduce the rate at which ISPs can afford to develop their infrastructure to adopt each new generation of technology
The industry also told Home Office Minister Charles Clarke recently that we wanted to see a statutory equivalent of the Technical Advisory Board and are therefore delighted that the Lords’ amendment to set up such a statutory body was passed. We urge the government to accept this decision in principle even if they wish to make improvements to the details and structure of the TAB.
We welcome further progress on the security of encryption keys which have been accessed, but government have still not done enough to limit the ‘special circumstances’ in which keys can be demanded.
Unfortunately the Draft Codes of Practice for the Bill, which were produced very late, pose more questions than answers. Industry expects to engage with the Home Office to ensure that subsequent drafts are less opaque.
The industry believes (and the Home Office accepted at a recent meeting) that the government must address the perception that UK will not be a suitable place to conduct e-business. These Lords amendments are at least a start to addressing this problem.
We urge the government to establish an early version of the TAB so that work can be re-started on agreeing how to move forward on the complex issues that RIP presents.
For further information please contact:
ISPA Nicholas Lansman 020 7233 7234
LINX Roland Perry 01733 207 705
CBI Nigel Hickson 020 7395 8131
FEI Tom Wills-Sandford 020 7331 2010 (Saturday 020 7731 3121)
NOTES TO EDITORS
ISPA is the Internet Services Providers Association UK
LINX is The London Internet Exchange
AEB is the Alliance for Electronic Business, which includes the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Federation of the Electronics Industry (FEI), e-centre, and Computer Software and Services Association (CSSA)
BCC is British Chamber of Commerce