Coreix Managed Servers

Internet firms have condemned the government’s “Big Brother” surveillance plans as an “unwarranted” intrusion into people’s privacy. The companies, which ministers are relying on to implement the scheme, also say the government has misled the public about how far it plans to go in monitoring internet use. The criticism, contained in a private submission to the Home Office, threatens to derail the £2 billion project, which ministers claim is essential to combat terrorism and crime.

Despite hostility from opposition MPs and civil liberties groups, government security officials want to be able to monitor every e-mail, phone call and website visit of people in the UK. However, the submission — by the London Internet Exchange, which represents more than 330 firms including BT, Virgin and Carphone Warehouse — said: “We view the description of the government’s proposals as ‘maintaining’ the capability as disingenuous: the volume of data the government now proposes [we] should collect and retain will be unprecedented, as is the overall level of intrusion into the privacy of citizenry.

Source: Times Online

Government plans to make Britain a world leader in the digital economy are under threat because high electricity prices are forcing companies to locate power-hungry data centres in other countries. Under the Government’s Digital Britain report, published last month, every British home and business will have a minimum 2MB broadband link. However, Derek Webster, associate director of McBains Cooper, a building consultancy, said that British electricity prices, which are the third highest in Europe, are forcing developers to build the infrastructure needed for these plans in countries such as France, potentially undermining UK competitiveness.

Some companies, including Yahoo!, have already switched their European headquarters from London to the Continent, citing high costs and a lack of the infrastructure needed to support their businesses. Santander, the Spanish banking group, recently scrapped plans to locate a big European data centre in London, opting instead for a cheaper site in Madrid.

Source: Times Online