Councils and tax authorities to get the power to look at internet histories

Council and tax authorities could be given the power to look at people’s internet browsing under plans that could start being passed into law this week.

The upcoming investigatory powers bill could give wide-ranging new powers 38 different authorities in the UK — including normal public bodies, as well as the police and spy agencies. They will be able to request information about what websites people have visited and what apps they have used, reports The Telegraph.

The new powers are expected to be revealed on Wednesday, as part of a revived version of the Snoopers’ Charter. Authorities have spent much of the recent days apparently leaking parts of that bill, ahead of what is set to be a difficult attempt to pass it into law.

In a potential area of controversy, measures requiring internet firms to store internet connection records (ICRs) to respond to the increasing use of apps and social media for communication are expected to be included in the draft Investigatory Powers Bill.

That information will be made available to 38 different authorities, according to The Telegraph, though all of them will have to get a warrant before they do so.

Sources said access to ICRs will be controlled and they will not include a full browsing history or reveal every web page visited, with strict limits on accessing the records. And the Government has backed down on a proposal to ban or weaken encryption, following months of criticism.

Mr Cameron told ITV's This Morning: "At heart what this whole Investigatory Powers Bill is really about is actually something quite simple, because we all know when it comes to missing children or hideous crimes and the like we all know it's absolutely vital for the police to be able to know who called who and when."

He said that communications data - in the form of telephone records - could be used to prove that under current laws governing the old technology.

"The point we are making in this Bill is, of course lots of people now communicate using email or websites in order to do exactly the same thing. So we need to know who called who and when.

"So communications data - not the content of the call, that's governed separately - but the 'who called who and when', we do need to make sure that we can follow that online as well as through a telephone call."

In a call for public and political support for the new measures he said: "As Prime Minister I would just say to people 'please, let's not have a situation where we give terrorists, criminals, child abductors, safe spaces to communicate'.

"It's not a safe space for them to communicate on a fixed line telephone or a mobile phone, we shouldn't allow the internet to be a safe space for them to communicate and do bad things."'

Additional reporting by Press Association