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Tech Firms Seek To Frustrate Internet History Log Law (bbc.com)
Plans to keep a record of UK citizens' online activities face a challenge from tech firms seeking to offer ways to hide people's browser histories. Internet providers will soon be required to record which services their customers' devices connect to -- including websites and messaging apps. From a report on BBC: The Home Office says it will help combat terrorism, but critics have described it as a "snoopers' charter". Critics of the law have said hackers could get access to the records. "It only takes one bad actor to go in there and get the entire database," said James Blessing, chairman of the Internet Service Providers' Association (Ispa), which represents BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and others. "You can try every conceivable thing in the entire world to [protect it] but somebody will still outsmart you. "Mistakes will happen. It's a question of when. Hopefully it's in tens or maybe a hundred years. But it might be next week."
What will happen is eventually, the UK will do two things:
1: Do like Pakistan and make VPNs illegal, with a long sentence for using one. This is already in place. A judge can ask someone repeatedly for a password, even an ephremeral SSL session key, and for every "no" answer, the defendant gets 4 years.
2: Do like China and block/interfere with VPN traffic. This is more subtle and easily done, with the blame lying with ISPs.
"The Home Office says it will help combat terrorism"
So would a video camera in every room of every house, but there's a reason we don't do that.
No sig today...
The government could try banning VPNs, and it would work for about five minutes before practically every company in the UK calls up their MP to point out that VPNs are an essential part of their business. Closely followed by the civil service, the military and the NHS.