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Parliamentary committee finds UK snooping bill too vague
The Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill is preparing to lay out its concerns and recommendations for the new surveillance legislation, following its final evidence session with primary author, Home Secretary Theresa May. The committee's report will fuel further debate on several controversial powers, but the government's Science and Technology Committee has also been keeping a close eye on proceedings. Today, that committee published its own findings on the IP Bill, urging the Home Office to provide greater clarity on some of the proposals, and to further consider the cost and feasibility of data-gathering systems.
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Home Secretary leaves plenty unanswered after IP Bill debate
At its heart, the Investigatory Powers Bill aims to give law enforcement and government agencies the means and powers to access Brits' online communications to aid their investigations. The bill's joint committee, whose job it is to scrutinise the legislation, has for several months been consulting with ISPs, mobile operators, tech companies, legal professionals, intelligence experts, privacy groups and other stakeholders. The last of these public evidence sessions took place on Wednesday, with Home Secretary Theresa May, the author of the IP Bill and long-time advocate of expanding the government's surveillance capabilities, being quizzed by the committee. While May attempted to provide some clarity on ambiguous parts of the bill and address concerns raised in previous sessions, plenty of uncertainty remains.
