The brilliant UK govt. has released information on plans to create a huge database of phone calls and e-mails based in Britain. Quite aside from the civil liberties/govt. intelligence agencies powers angles, the fact that there have been multiple incidents involving lack of data security within the last year have led to many people being very unhappy with the proposal. Check out the BBC’s article for a little background info. If approved, it would effectively extend the range of the much hated RIPA that has had many journalists and bloggers up in arms already. Combine that with the fact that I’m pretty sure the intelligence agencies already have the capabilities to do this, on an international scale with the Echelon scheme. I suppose it is possible that if such legislation were bought in, it would legalise such schemes that are already quietly in place, and would make any such evidence admissible in a British court of law.
PS To those of my friends that think I have paranoid tendencies, you could be right, but you need to be aware what is happening in your world. Close your eyes too long, and you lose the right to complain when things like this become public in years to come due to some shady circumstances etc.