Emergency phone and internet data laws to be passed

Emergency phone and internet data laws to be passed





Emergency powers to ensure police and security services can continue to access phone and internet records are being rushed through Parliament.

Prime Minister David Cameron has secured the backing of all three main parties for the highly unusual move.
He said urgent action was needed to protect the public from "criminals and terrorists" after the European Court of Justice struck down existing powers.
But civil liberties campaigners have warned it will invade people's privacy.
Mr Cameron defended the move in a joint news conference with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, saying it was about maintaining existing capabilities - not introducing new snooping laws.


But it will make legally clear the requirements include companies based abroad, whose phone and internet services are used in the UK. A former senior diplomat will also be appointed to work with other nations to speed up the "lawful and justified" transfer of data across borders.
Mr Cameron also said he had reached an agreement with Labour leader Ed Miliband for a wider review of the surveillance powers needed by the security services, to report after the next election.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...15_line976.jpg
Key questions answered

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...0688e86613.jpg

What is the emergency legislation?

The legislation is primarily aimed at the companies that provide us with telephone and internet connections. It outlines their legal obligation to retain "communications data" on their customers. This metadata includes things like logs of when calls were made, what numbers were dialled, and other information that can be used, the government says, in investigations. It does not include the content of the communications.

Will it mean the government can listen in to my calls?

Not exactly. The vast majority of people will only have data collected on things such as the time a call is made and the number that was called - not the actual contents of that communication. But the emergency law does go further - the law reinforces the ability of authorities to carry out what is known as a "legal intercept". This is when a target is identified for additional monitoring - including listening in to phone calls and other communications.

Read the full guide
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...15_line976.jpg

Mr Cameron said: "We face real and credible threats to our security from serious and organised crime, from the activity of paedophi1es, from the collapse of Syria, the growth of Isis in Iraq and al Shabab in East Africa.
"I am simply not prepared to be a prime minister who has to address the people after a terrorist incident and explain that I could have done more to prevent it."
He added: "I want to be very clear that we are not introducing new powers or capabilities - that is not for this Parliament.
"This is about restoring two vital measures ensuring that our law enforcement and intelligence agencies maintain the right tools to keep us all safe."
In return for agreeing to back the legislation, Labour and the Lib Dems highlighted new moves to "increase transparency and oversight", including:

• The creation of a new Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to scrutinise the impact of the law on privacy and civil liberties
• Annual government transparency reports on how these powers are used
• The appointment of a senior former diplomat to lead discussions with the US government and internet firms to establish a new international agreement for sharing data between legal jurisdictions
• A restriction on the number of public bodies, including Royal Mail, able to ask for communications data under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA)
• Termination clause ensuring these powers expire at the end of 2016
• A wider review of the powers needed by government during the next parliament

Mr Cameron stressed that the data being retained does not include the content of messages and phone calls - just when and who the companies' customers called, texted and emailed.
But the emergency Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill would also "clarify" the law on bugging of suspects' phones by the police and security services, when the home secretary issues a warrant, after concerns service providers were turning down requests.
"Some companies are already saying they can no longer work with us unless UK law is clarified immediately," said Mr Cameron.
"Sometimes in the dangerous world in which we live we need our security services to listen to someone's phone and read their emails to identify and disrupt a terrorist plot."

Analysis

By Nick Robinson, BBC Political Editor
Jump media player


Nick Robinson explains why there is a rush to bring in the new law

Critics will no doubt argue that the time for a debate about what powers will replace this law is now. To pass any new law in just a week is rare. So too is it to have the backing of all three main parties even before it is published. Read more from Nick
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...15_line976.jpg
The government says it was forced to act after the European Court struck down an EU directive in April requiring phone and internet companies to retain communications data on the grounds that it infringed human rights.
Emergency legislation was needed, the government argues, because service providers were being threatened with legal action by campaigners if they did not start destroying data that could prove vital to criminal investigations and court cases.
But Conservative MP and former shadow home secretary David Davis, a longstanding campaigner on civil liberties, accused the government of staging a "theatrical emergency," adding that ministers had "plenty of time" to come up with a response to April's court ruling rather than rushing it through Parliament without proper scrutiny.
"This is complicated law, it needs to be got right," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...15_line976.jpg

Analysis

By Gordon Corera, BBC security correspondent

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...3b57df67e9.jpg

There is no doubt that gathering communications data can be a powerful tool. Officials say it has played a role in almost all serious criminal cases and counter-terrorist investigations in recent years.

But the political context around its use has changed - partly but not entirely due to the Edward Snowden revelations. It has led commercial communications companies to become nervous about being seen to help government too readily and to them demanding more clarity over the law.
Overall, the new environment has led to more questions being raised about whether there is sufficient transparency, accountability and oversight.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...15_line976.jpg
Shami Chakrabarti, director of campaign group Liberty, said: "We are told this is a paedophile and jihadi 'emergency', but the court judgment they seek to ignore was handed down over three months ago and this isn't snooping on suspects but on everyone."
David Cameron believes existing surveillance powers do not go far enough and he repeated his promise to push ahead with plans for a giant database of all websites visited by UK citizens, dubbed a "snooper's charter" by critics, if he wins the next election.
Nick Clegg blocked attempts by this government to pass the "snooper's charter" - but he said he had been convinced of the need for the more limited powers contained in the emergency Data Retention and Investigation Powers Bill.
The legislation contains what Mr Clegg described as a "poisoned pill" which will mean the powers cease at the end of 2016, in an effort to ensure the next parliament takes a more considered look at the issue.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...8bb4ea202b.jpg
Shami Chakrabarti says the emergency legislation is about "snooping on everyone"

The Lib Dem leader said successive governments had "neglected civil liberties as they claim to pursue greater security", but added: "I wouldn't be standing here today if I didn't believe there is an urgent challenge facing us.
"No government embarks on emergency legislation lightly but I have been persuaded of the need to act and act fast."
The bill will be pushed through Parliament in seven days - a process that normally takes several months.
MPs will be given a chance to debate it in an extended Commons sitting on Tuesday, but Labour's Tom Watson said they would not get time to properly consider the plans and he branded it a "stitch-up".
But Mr Watson was one of the few MPs to voice doubts about the legislation in the Commons earlier, where Home Secretary Theresa May accused the Labour MP of finding a "conspiracy at all costs".
Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that Labour would support the emergency legislation, telling the party's MPs in a letter: "Serious criminal investigations and counter terrorism intelligence operations must not be jeopardised.

'Lateness of legislation'

"That is why we are supporting this emergency legislation which we accept is designed solely to protect existing capabilities."
But Ms Cooper said: "There will be serious concern in Parliament and across the country at the lateness of this legislative proposal and the short time to consider something so important."

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image..._153367573.jpg

The Open Rights Group, which has been pushing service providers to start destroying data following the European Court ruling, criticised the government for using the threat of terrorism to push through an "emergency law" that it says has no legal basis.
Executive Director Jim Killock said: "Not only will the proposed legislation infringe our right to privacy, it will also set a dangerous precedent where the government simply re-legislates every time it disagrees with a decision by the CJEU.
"The ruling still stands and these new plans may actually increase the amount of our personal data that is retained by ISPs, further infringing on our right to privacy.
"Blanket surveillance needs to end. That is what the court has said."
Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has accused the UK government of a "lack of prior consultation", adding that the legislation could affect Scots law and matters devolved to the Scottish government.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28237111

Does this not happen in the states already? None of this surprises me and I'm cynical of whether there
will always be a warrant issued for the spying on the actual content of phone or email communication..

George Orwell had it pegged

supe

It is worrying but it seems like thanks to the recent leaks we are just now aware of things that have been going on for some time. You would have thought the leaks would put a stop to some of this but obviously not.

This happened / happens here already under the data retention directive, regulation of investigatory powers act and the communications act.

Essentially all telcos were required to retain call and internet metadata for a period of between 6 and 24 months, the actual retention period to be determined by each european member state. This has been law for many years.

A few weeks ago a case was heard by the european court of juctice, referred by austrian and irish cases, that challenged the proportionality of the data retention directive and whether it was compatible with the european convention of human rights.

essentially, the retention of data belonging to millions of innocent people for a 'just in case' it will be useful to prevent serious crime scenario was challenged. The ECJ rules that the retention directive was 'invalid'.

Therefore the retention of isp metadata is without a legal basis as the original law (the directive) was found to be defective, so the government is creating a new domestic version to replace the domestic data retention regulation that gave effect to the 'invalid directive'.

It is a clear disregard for privacy which other member states have championed. Austria has already repealed the retention regulations so it is unlawful to retain this data.

Personally this isnt a surprise, we are yet another step closer to the orwellian 1984 model of mass surveillance.

Also, for those that are interested the Draft Bill is here

This is BS and the beginning of the end. Anyone thinking this is good is batshit bonkers. The police and gov cannot be trusted, and handing them more power is a really shitty idea. As above not a surprise but like everything that gets "passed" it will be mis used for profit by the powers at be.

People saying the usual "if you've done nuffink, then you have nuffink to hide..." etc are deluded.


DJ OD

In my mind this just goes to show that its not the government who rule this country. This isn't going to make them very popular, alas, it will all be forgotten about come election time.

As mentioned above, they've been doing this for years, Edward Snowden told us. This bill is just formalising it.

Blaming it on the so called terrorist threat yet again. Same as the mobile phone thing in airports at the moment. Undetectable explosives has been a threat for years according to people who I know work in airport security. Is someone really going to pack a load of C4 in a waifer thin iPhone or Galaxy S5 - Apple and Samsung devices being the main devices they are looking at. Which dickhead will buy a £500 device and then blow it up?!? They'd use a shit old Nokia 3330 or they'd stuff it in hand luggage and blow it up by remote.

We're turning more into America every day. We'll have big hairy blokes patting down our Mrs's next! Oh, and expensive new airport scanners propping up someone's share price.

Sorry, getting off topic. Its funny how they throw around the words paedophile, terrorist, Syria, ISIS, etc and say that these are all imminent threats to our nation's security. Our best buddies in the US trained these people. The intelligence agencies in this country and the US know who the major players are. They're not interested 16 year old school girls like the media would have you believe. They're interested in the breaking up of Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia so that they can protect the bits with oil and fuck the rest. Its all very wrong and if you think that letting the government perform data mining activities from our phone calls and emails is going to make you any safer then you are sadly mistaken. Read the draft where it talks about the tax man snooping on you if you owe them money.....

Its getting to be the case that we are all assumed guilty and all information will be kept in case they want to use it on us

yeah to many powers for those who will abuse them.
I keep saying this - we vote them in but then we have no say on what we want - Dumbos aint we ?
I throught the government worked for the people - how wrong I was.

They do work for the people - the people that give them wads of £50's in brown envelopes...