Homeland Security Will Track Fertilizer Buyers

The Department of Homeland Security has proposed new regulations that would make it harder to buy ammonium nitrate — an agricultural fertilizer that can be used as a bomb-making ingredient.

In a notice issued late last month, the department proposed new rules that would tighten restrictions on the sale of ammonium nitrate. Among other things, the regulations would require prospective buyers to apply for registration numbers from Homeland Security; the department will also run terrorist screening database checks on all prospective registrants.

The proposed rules (read here) will bring regulations in line with a recent amendment to the Homeland Security Act. The amendment requires the department to “regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium nitrate facility to prevent the misappropriation or use of ammonium nitrate in an act of terrorism.”

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British Government To Watch Every Call And E-mail

Ministers are considering spending up to £12 billion on a database to monitor and store the internet browsing habits, e-mail and telephone records of everyone in Britain.

GCHQ, the government’s eavesdropping center, has already been given up to £1 billion to finance the first stage of the project.

Hundreds of clandestine probes will be installed to monitor customers live on two of the country’s biggest internet and mobile phone providers – thought to be BT and Vodafone. BT has nearly 5m internet customers.

Ministers are braced for a backlash similar to the one caused by their ID cards program. Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: “Any suggestion of the government using existing powers to intercept communications data without public discussion is going to sound extremely sinister.”

MI5 currently conducts limited e-mail and website intercepts which are approved under specific warrants by the home secretary.

Further details of the new plan will be unveiled next month in the Queen’s speech.

The Home Office stressed no formal decision had been taken but sources said officials had made clear that ministers had agreed “in principle” to the program.

Officials claim live monitoring is necessary to fight terrorism and crime. However, critics question whether such a vast system can be kept secure. A total of 57 billion text messages were sent in the UK last year – 1,800 every second.

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