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An MP has warned that Britain is "sleepwalking towards a privatised surveillance society" during a debate on internet privacy.
Robert Halfon (Con, Harlow) said he was concerned about abuses of privacy by major organisations such as Google and Facebook.
Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate, the Harlow MP said he was particularly concerned about data collected by Google through the design of its "Streetview" service, which has been banned in certain countries.
Halfon called for the creation of an internet bill of rights and an independent commission into data security.
It was "hard to believe" that Google could copy millions of computer passwords and email details and "not know what it was doing", he also warned.
Culture minister Ed Vaizey, promised to write to Google, Facebook and major internet service providers (ISPs) to organise a meeting on data protection.
However he told MPs that being online didn't mean that things were unregulated, saying that "illegal activity is illegal activity wherever it occurs".
The minister told MPs the Metropolitan Police had been considering over the summer whether Google's breach of data warranted an investigation.
He added that he expected the Information Commissioner to work with Google to put in place "mechanisms to ensure that would not happen again".
Speaking on behalf of the opposition, shadow business minister Ian Lucas said "regulation should only be a last resort".
Meanwhile Conservative backbencher Mike Weatherley (Hove) warned against the internet becoming a "free for all".
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