DWP access to Google, gmail etc re useage

Thanks all, yes the best approach is to be able to justify use of laptop at home- on an ad hoc basis depending on energy - but explain that going out/travel is limited due to fatigue etc and unpredictable health patterns.
I haven't looked up the new bill (too complicated) but I have sadly realised that the dwp staff don't always follow the law - I have a friend who had a home appt booked for a certain day when a friend would be present and they turned up a day early and insisted on being let in and doing the interview. (It did not go well) I imagine if info is for sale from companies they may use it in a way which is not entirely fair. I am not up to any mischief but don't want my personal emails/data use being looked at without a good reason. Fair enough if you are on Facebook gadding about all over !

Thanks Abby. I don't use Facebook or Instagram...I was thinking more about the selling of personal account data, google accounts use etc. But maybe I am just worrying too much and I suppose the ICO is there if dwp seem to know a lot about what you are reading/writing and there is nothing illegal going on to justify that. (I assume access to this forum too is private !! ?)
The DWP seems to take the stance that all claimants are suspect these days.

I wasn't actually talking about Facebook et al but rather the DWP going directly to your internet provider/mobile provider/google/amazon etc to ask for your activity on the basis that there "might" be something they don't approve of going on. As the dwp now seem to think all claimants could be scroungers or cheats (against their own fraud statistics) if they did go about it legally I don't know what sort of reason/proof they would have to present to a Judge. But there are plenty of illegal ways of finding out it seems. I just came across an article on The Guardian which is now on bbc iplayer - programme is CLICK - who has your data? on 31/3/18. Best not to get paranoid if we aren't actually doing anything wrong but it is good to know what may be happening and what our rights are.

ostia wrote: I wasn't actually talking about Facebook et al but rather the DWP going directly to your internet provider/mobile provider/google/amazon etc to ask for your activity on the basis that there "might" be something they don't approve of going on. As the dwp now seem to think all claimants could be scroungers or cheats (against their own fraud statistics) if they did go about it legally I don't know what sort of reason/proof they would have to present to a Judge. But there are plenty of illegal ways of finding out it seems. I just came across an article on The Guardian which is now on bbc iplayer - programme is CLICK - who has your data? on 31/3/18. Best not to get paranoid if we aren't actually doing anything wrong but it is good to know what may be happening and what our rights are.

Hi ostia

Re the DWP going directly to your ISP etc I think they would need a very good reason for doing so. If I remember correctly ISPs are required by law to hold 'traffic' information for at least a year This would be the websites the person visited and when but not what webpages they visited on those sites. The same applies to mobile/landline providers, they have to keep a record of at least a year of the number dialled from, the number dialed to, the duration of the call and when it was made. They do not hold recordings of the actual phone calls themselves. Also of course the mere fact that a call has been made from and to particular numbers says nothing about who actually made and answered the calls, they may not be the person who has the phone contract, they could for example be a friend, relative or colleague! Similarly websites visited may not be by the person with the internet contract! I ought to add that the same applies to emails as to phone calls, that is the traffic, sometimes called 'meta-data' or the 'envelope' has to be held by providers for at least a year but not the actual contact of those emails.

The Government do employer a team of Hackers, but not for the purpose of looking at people on benefits. Lets be honest, you are unimportant to the government as an individual.
Be sensible with any online interactions and be aware of what you are posting online.
Without being paranoid anyone can be jealous and report you to DWP, even your best friend. Once a report has been made then the DWP have to investigate