The UK Government has been pushing its centralised database on Internet and mobile phone communication data for a while, but yesterday, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith went on record saying they had ruled out the idea of creating a single, massive database of all our Internet data and mobile calls, which had generated controversy as being an invasion of privacy.

This isn’t to say the plan has been abandoned however, just modified.  Much concern arose from the Government’s less-than-steller track record regarding the safety of private data, so instead of creating their own, the burden is to be placed on ISPs and mobile network providers, who will need to store more information on its users activities and calls.

At present, this information is limited to ‘what, when, where and how’ and not actual ‘content’, so not the calls to your mum or what you purchased online yesterday.  The case for the improvement of the Government’s ability to prosecute criminals by using this data is a strong one, and one which is difficult to say no to, however to many it’s just another ‘big brother’ watching over them.  How do you feel about this?