Online firms told to brace for regulations

TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES should brace for “ever-tightening” regulation after failing to do enough to help stop terrorists, paedophiles and organised criminals exploiting their services, the most senior police watchdog for England and Wales has said.

Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor warned internet giants the case for forcing them to comply with requests for data will gather more pace as long as they “continue to devise ways to frustrate law enforcement”.

He singled out challenges linked to the growth of end-toend encryption, which means messages and communications are encoded so only the sending and receiving devices can read them.

Security chiefs and senior police officers have repeatedly claimed the technology is making the task of disrupting terrorist plots and child abuse more difficult.

“If the terrorist or criminal had a list of his contacts in a little book in his back pocket, nobody is seriously saying the police would not be able to open that book and use those contents so what’s the difference?” Sir Thomas said.