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FT 25/4/2000: "Whitehall 'should pay to set up e-mail in

------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: "Caspar Bowden" <cb@fipr.org> To: "FIPR News Archive \(E-mail\)" <news_archive@fipr.org>, "Ukcrypto \(E-mail\)" <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk> Subject: FT 25/4/2000: "Whitehall 'should pay to set up e-mail intercept'" Date sent: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 12:54:56 +0100 Send reply to: ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk

http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3BURTVG7C&live=true&useoverridetemplate=IXLZHNNP94C Whitehall 'should pay to set up e-mail intercept' By Jean Eaglesham and Carlos Grande Published: April 25 2000 02:06GMT | Last Updated: April 25 2000 02:07GMT

The UK government should bear the initial cost of controversial measures requiring internet service providers to be able to intercept e-mails, an official report has decided.

But industry experts have reacted angrily to the report's conclusion that the running cost of interception - a minimum £9,400 a year for a small ISP - will not impose an "onerous burden" on business.

The row adds to mounting criticism that the regulation of investigatory powers bill - which is going through Parliament - will undermine the government's policy of promoting Britain as an e-commerce centre by imposing extra costs on local internet businesses.

The report, commissioned by the Home Office from e-business consultants The Smith Group, provides the first hard data about who should pay the bill for new powers allowing officials to bug and tap e-mails and mobile phones.

The bill states that ISPs must have an interception capability. How that is done and who pays for it will be decided by secondary legislation.

The report calculates that the annual costs for a medium to large ISP range from £23,200 to £236,000 a year. For small ISPs, the range is £9,400 to £11,800. The upfront costs of setting up the systems - £210,000 to £500,000 - should be met by government, rather than industry, the report states.

This conclusion will be welcomed by ISPs, who have argued the new requirements are policing costs that should be paid for by the taxpayer. But they will differ sharply with the report's conclusion that the ongoing costs will not hit industry. "Another £10,000 a year could make life very difficult for some small ISPs," said one industry insider.

Critics claim the costs compare unfavourably with France, the US and Irish Republic, where ISPs will not have to bear compulsory interception overheads.

Ecentre UK, an industry body that promotes electronic trading standards, said the bill could, via secondary legislation, re-impose measures and costs dropped from previous bills after much lobbying.

Alan Boxer, managing director of Ecentre UK, said that additional costs for ISPs would lead them to conclude that the UK was not the best place to do e-business.

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