Block internet monitoring plan

Sir Tim told the Guardian that moves by governments to control or spy on the internet "keep me up most at night". The government has not published its full proposals but says they simply extend existing rules to cover internet phone services and social media. But Sir Tim said, without a "very strong" watchdog it was important to stop the plan "as it is at the moment". The Home Office says the proposals are aimed at tackling crime and terrorism and they are expected to be outlined in full in the Queen's Speech in May. It is thought that the plan is for internet firms to record details of internet use and be required to give intelligence agency GCHQ "real-time" access to emails, calls and messages. Without a warrant they would not be able to see the content of the messages - but would be able to identify who someone was in contact with, how often and for how long, and which websites they had visited. But Sir Tim, who has advised the government on making data more accessible, told the Guardian: "The amount of control you have over somebody if you can monitor internet activity is amazing. "You get to know every detail, you get to know, in a way, more intimate details about their life than any person that they talk to because often people will confide in the internet as they find their way through medical websites... or as an adolescent finds their way through a website about homosexuality, wondering what they are and whether they should talk to people about it." He added that routinely recording information about people was "obviously very dangerous" as it could be stolen or acquired by corrupt officials and used to blackmail people. And he told the newspaper there would have to be a "very strong independent body" set up which could investigate every use of the new powers. But he said, as the government had not yet said that there would be one, or spelled out how data would be stored: "The most important thing to do is to stop the bill as it is at the moment." The government has not yet published a bill, but ministers have talked about the plans, which first emerged in a story in the Sunday Times. Prime Minister David Cameron said last week that there was no question of "changing the rules and snooping into the content of somebody's telephone calls or emails". He said a warrant would still be needed, signed by the home secretary - something that is currently the case for intelligence officers who wanted to listen to someone's phone call. Mr Cameron denied it was a "snoopers' charter" and said the aim was to make sure the government was "keeping up with technology" - particularly as more communication was now being done through internet services like Skype. But civil liberties groups have been critical as have some Conservative MPs. Former shadow home secretary David Davis has called it "an unnecessary extension of the ability of the state to snoop on ordinary people".