Editorial

Parliament passes IP Bill as critics pledge further legal battle

Surveillance powers that formalise government policy on encryption and data access are expected to pass into law in coming weeks, as tech industry calls for further clarity from Home Office

Posted 23 November 2016 by Gary Flood


Latest headlines from our content partner 'Government Computing'The Investigatory Powers (IP) Bill has now been passed through both Houses of Parliament, with numerous provisions outlining state powers around data security, access and surveillance expected to become law over the next few weeks, pending Royal Assent.

According to  The Independent , the House of Lords has now cleared the bill that will set out the government’s future ability to intercept and monitor communications and information, as well as implications for public sector and private bodies holding data.

The proposed legislation aims to formalise several existing pieces of legislation around encryption and collecting bulk personal communications data into a single law, attracting significant controversy and criticism from rights groups, as well as MPs and peers.

Concerns remain over a lack of clarity on how authorities will make use of powers to monitor and police digital correspondence, especially in light of high profile whistleblowers like Edward Snowden going to the press to criticise the powers authorities have reportedly been using to access personal data for years.

This news is from our content partner Government Computing; please go here for the full version.