Following a strong challenge from civil liberties groups, access has been reduced to five bodies including the Serious Fraud office, NHS trusts and fire authorities.

The current rights to see private communications data belong to the police, customs and excise, intelligence services and the Inland Revenue.

Are the proposals an improvement? Should authorities have the right to check on personal communications?

This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.

Your reaction

If you have nothing to hide then why be worried? In the world as it is this present time some, so called, civil liberties will have to be reduced. All that we hold sacred is at stake and strength is required. I trust the state of the country I live in to apply the rules correctly.
JK, UK

In 1997 this Government came to power promising open government, they soon dropped that pledge and now we are moving faster and further than any other developed country into a "guilty until proven innocent" culture. Orwell was wrong, it was 2004 not 1984.
Alex Jenkins, London

If you want to keep your mail safe, use a non-standard encryption device. There's a few shareware ones and a look at the current papers from cryptanalysts, a little programming know how, and cooperation from friends would mean we do keep a little privacy.
Steve G, UK

No, it is not needed in a democracy.
Richard Lafferty, UK

Who will be watching the watchers? Knowledge is power and these covert groups who are getting this access to our records will become more dangerous than they already are.
Adeeba Siddiqui, England

Will we ever get our rights back once they are gone? Hadyn Lassiter, USA

It seems the terrorists have won again. We are losing more of our freedoms each day. What will this war bring our way? What is worse, loss of rights or bombs? It seems to me we could fight the bombs but will we ever get our rights back once they are gone? So many have fought and died to preserve these freedoms that are now being laid to rest along side those who gave their all.
Hadyn Lassiter, USA

While they are at it they should make it a criminal offence to close curtains or use non-transparent carrier bags!
Simon, UK

The last thing I want is for the government to spy on me. I wish they would do something useful for a change. This government is more right-wing than Mrs Thatcher and a lot more controlling. Kindly stop it!
Paul, UK

Why should mobile telephones be treated differently from landlines?
Pat Davies, UK

My e-mails are read by a team of three guys who sit about 10 feet away from me Paul, UK

My e-mails are read by a team of three guys who sit about 10 feet away from me. The culture of our business is such that nobody would ever admit that the snooping goes on. When I ask these chaps what exactly it is they do, they are very vague and dismissive. As a consequence whenever I am bored, I send mails to my friends in which I describe the snoopers in very pejorative terms, knowing they will read it, but cannot confront me about it. Oh how the afternoons fly by...
Paul, UK

As a professional in IT I know how easy it is to see e-mail in mailboxes, from backups or even as it's being transmitted across the Internet in its plain text format. Even encrypted, some passwords are easy to break. The solution? If you don't want it read by snoopers (government or otherwise) don't write it!
James, UK

I run a legitimate business from home and depend on my e-mail and mobile. I work in a very competitive industry and the idea that every Tom, Dick and Harry can access my confidential business e-mails, let alone my personal e-mails is outrageous. None of the reports I have seen so far justifies why non-crime fighting groups like the NHS and Fire Service need this access. How come I can't even read my own medical notes but they can see everything I do?
Stephen, UK

It is generally accepted that it is illegal for anyone but the addressee to open a written letter Nigel, UK

I don't like the idea of the government giving anyone the ability to read my e-mails. It is generally accepted that it is illegal for anyone but the addressee to open a written letter so why should they be allowed to open my electronic mail? My friends and I would be too tempted to talk at length about money laundering, diseases, fires, smuggling cigarettes and associated matters just to wind these people up.
Nigel, UK

Show me the reasons that each agency needs access to this information, if it can be used positively to reduce crime in any form then it has my backing. I am not concerned with people having access to my communications as I have nothing to hide but if there is no productive reason for a particular agency to be snooping then they shouldn't be allowed to.
Craig Francis, USA

Private communications data should be exactly that - private. Anyone who has something to hide will do exactly that, using encryption or an alternative communications channel. There is no reason to believe this law will make this country safer in any way. Even if it did, would the cost of losing privacy be worth it?
James, UK

E-mail is already insecure and capable of being intercepted at many points John Withey, UK

E-mail is already insecure and capable of being intercepted at many points before it reaches its intended recipient. It is a little like writing private correspondence on a postcard instead of a letter inside an envelope. To suggest that the only people who have anything to fear are criminals and terrorists is incorrect and rather naive. These people already use public key encryption software for e-mail, freely available on the internet. The general public should routinely be using this same software whenever they use e-mail. Only then is confidentiality guaranteed, and the recipient assured (because of a digital signature) that the sender is who they believe them to be.
John Withey, UK

I love sending and getting e-mails and the thought that someone for whom they were not intended is reading them is an infringement of my privacy. However, I can't see anyone who is on the right side of the law being too upset and it seems only those people who may have a legitimate right will see stuff. Perhaps we should write more letters, but the sheer speed and convenience of e-mails is very tempting.
Joycelyn Sanders, UK

You and I will end up paying more for internet access John M, UK

If the government believe it is necessary for ISPs to keep data for up to 6 years, are they going to provide the money to do so? Are they heck. You and I will end up paying more for internet access so that the government can spy on us.
John M, UK

I accept that agencies dealing with serious fraud and drugs could require this level of access. I cannot however, imagine any circumstance in which the NHS trusts or fire authorities would. If the need arose as part of a criminal investigation, it should be provided through and with the knowledge of, the police.
Kathy, UK

There was a lot of criticism of the American security agencies failure to act on snippets of information which could have given a lead on the 9/11 tragedy. I wonder whether we would feel more or less secure if we knew such information could be legitimately gathered?
Bill, UK

I'll show them mine, if the government show me theirs.
David, England

This law assumes from the outset that people using the internet are criminals Simon Andrew, UK

This law assumes from the outset that people using the internet are criminals. There is no such law snooping on private conversations (yet) so why should electronic ones be snooped? Once again we see the government's knees jerking like rag-dolls in a hurricane.
Simon Andrew, UK

I've always said to my friend (who uses PGP rabidly) that I have no need of it as I have nothing to hide, but it's nonetheless uncomfortable when they're suggesting they watch my every move, so I may rethink my stance.
AJ, UK

People should realise that e-mail is not secure unless encrypted. Anyone with a minimum of technical knowledge, or access to your ISPs server for example, can read your e-mail.
David Deighton, UK

Prior written authority from a High Court Judge should ALWAYS be required. Drew Edgar, England

Absolutely NOT under any circumstances should access be given to any authority than the police and security services. Prior written authority from a High Court judge should ALWAYS be required.
Drew Edgar, England

No-one reads my private e-mails. They are all encoded with PGP, which the last time I checked was unbreakable. I do however make sure I send at least one unencoded e-mail a week from an online e-mail account that only contains words like nuclear bomb, terrorism, USA, twin towers etc just to give the snoopers something to read.
Simon, UK

Given the government's record on handling big IT projects, I would not be too worried. This should be (I hope) a spectacular disaster.
Anon

The personal freedoms we have left are too precious to risk