Every email in Britain is to be tracked by the Government in a bid to target crime and terrorist activity.

The new scheme by the Home Office means that Internet Service Providers such as BT and Vodafone are required to monitor the times and frequencies of every email sent or received in Britain for a year.

The directive will reportedly cost the British government between £25 million and £70 million in payment to Internet Service Providers, and will begin on 15 March this year.

The incentive has raised ethical questions of privacy and basic human rights under the infringement of civil liberties, as outlined in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The actual content of emails will not be monitored, but the police and councils will be able to access details regarding frequency of emails and the times they were sent if required.

"The Home Office is progressing towards the monitoring of actual content which is a concern for our fundamental right to privacy”

There are concerns that this move is a step towards the Government’s Interception Modernisation Programme, which threatens to monitor not only emails, but text messages, phone calls and website visitations in an effort to combat crime and terrorism.

Technology expert Martin Warner said: “Not many people would argue that greater monitoring of the Internet is a bad thing. The Home Office however, is progressing towards the monitoring of actual content which is a concern for our fundamental right to privacy”.

Warner also points out that the scheme to track emails could be a waste of time and money.

He continued: “There are massive and costly impracticalities. The government will be dealing with trillions of pieces of information that ultimately may not even be reliable”.

These developments come amidst ongoing processes to submit people with identity cards later this year.

Those who refuse to be issued with a card, if they renew their passports before 2010, will still have their details entered onto the National Identity Register, but everyone will be required to sign up for one by next year.

These identity cards will include details such as people’s names, date of birth and address, and will also contain a chip holding basic personal identity information.

Biometirc data, which are unique personal characteristics such as fingerprints and irises, will also be considered. These are currently used in newly introduced passports.

The Home Office states: “When you apply for an ID card, we will check your ‘biographical footprint’ (name, date of birth and address) against information held in other databases such as National Insurance or driving licence records”.

This is another example of how the Government is using advanced technology to monitor the activities of British citizens in an attempt to overcome terrorism.

In outlining the controversial Interception Modernisation Programme, Government bodies state: “The Interception Modernisation Programme is a key example of how Government is using innovative and ground-breaking technology to stay well ahead of the terrorists”. (1)

Consultations over the Interception Modernisation Programme are due to begin later this year.

By Kay Taylor.

(1) As outlined in The United Kingdom Security and Counter-Terrorism Science and Innovation Strategy, 2007.