[fdkz]

> Why is zdnet trying to put this UK law as if it was something out of the ordinary ?

Because the 2006/24/EC data retention directive [1] didn't say anything about browsing history and even then was invalidated by the Court of Justice of European Union. The new UK law however:

"The law will force internet providers to record every internet customer's top-level web history in real-time for up to a year, which can be accessed by numerous government departments; force companies to decrypt data on demand -- though the government has never been that clear on exactly how it forces foreign firms to do that; and even disclose any new security features in products before they launch."

[1] http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2... (read "Article 5" "Categories of data to be retained")