This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35544789

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Spy law needs significant changes, says parliamentary committee Spy law needs significant changes, says parliamentary committee
(about 3 hours later)
The draft internet monitoring bill needs "significant work", a committee of MPs and peers has said. Home Secretary Theresa May's internet monitoring plans need "significant work", a committee has ruled.
The draft Investigatory Powers Bill will force internet service providers to store all web activity for a year.The draft Investigatory Powers Bill will force internet service providers to store all web activity for a year.
It will also authorise the bulk collection of personal data and hacking of smartphones by Britain's spies.It will also authorise the bulk collection of personal data and hacking of smartphones by Britain's spies.
Ministers say the changes will help to catch terrorists and tackle organised crime by updating laws to fit the new technology being used by criminals. Ministers say the changes will help to catch terrorists and tackle organised crime by updating laws to fit the new technology being used by criminals.
But the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill said in a report that although the bill was on the right track, the government must address significant concerns if it is to command the support necessary for keeping the records. But civil liberties campaigners claim the measures contained in it amount to mass surveillance of UK citizens - and that the committee's report meant the home secretary needed to go "back to the drawing board".
The committee said it "has not been persuaded that enough work has been done to conclusively prove the case" for the plans to force communications service providers to collect and store data known as internet connection records. Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "This report shows just how much homework the government has to do on this landmark legislation."
Ministers must also spell out their plans on encryption to ensure that they will not force tech firms to provide a "back door" for spies, the parliamentary committee said. 'World-leading oversight'
The bill was earlier criticised as "a dragnet approach" and "disproportionate" by former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. Mrs May said the government would "carefully consider" the conclusions of three committees which have reported on the Bill before presenting its final proposals.
Mr Clegg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What the Home Office is in essence proposing is that in order to be able to surveil and analyse something, they're saying they want to collect everything on everyone, and that is a dragnet approach which I've always felt is disproportionate." "This is vital legislation, and we are absolutely determined to get it right.
He said an analogy of finding terrorist or criminal activity on the internet as being like a needle in a haystack was "comforting", but that "the reality is a little different." "Our draft Bill followed three independent reports on investigatory powers, whose authors were unanimous a new law was necessary.
"Implying that everyone may be guilty when millions of innocent people are just going about their everyday business free of any wrongdoing at all is... something which is not in keeping with long-standing British traditions," Mr Clegg said. "We are clear we need to introduce legislation which responds to the threats we face in the digital age, protects both the privacy and security of the public, and provides world-leading oversight and safeguards."
"The question is about proportionality. Is it proportionate in a liberal democracy to retain information on everything from the music you download on Spotify, to the app that you open, to the supermarket website that you visit, in order to go after the bad guys? Very few countries, other than Russia that I'm aware of, take this dragnet approach."
He said he favoured a "narrower approach" to data retention, and that other countries concentrate on collecting data on those people who "flicker on the radar screen of security services in the first place."
Mass surveillance claims have been hotly disputed by the Home Secretary Theresa May, who says the legislation includes tough new privacy safeguards, such as judicial oversight and warrants.
But her proposal to make service providers store "internet connection records" for 12 months, so that they can be accessed by investigators, have been criticised as vague and confusing.
Tech firms have told MPs it might not be possible to separate out domain names such as bbc.co.uk from individual web pages in the way the home secretary wants.
There are also concerns, expressed by Apple and other tech giants, that the bill will force them to adopt weaker encryption standards.
What new powers are being proposed?What new powers are being proposed?
Communications firms - such as your broadband or mobile phone providers - will be compelled to hold a year's worth of your communications data. This new information will be details of services, websites and data sources you connect to when you go online and is called your "Internet Connection Record". For instance, it could be your visit to the BBC website from a mobile phone at breakfast and then how you used an online chat service at lunch. It does not include the detail of what you then did within each service. There is no comparable legal duty to retain these records in the rest of Europe, the USA, Canada or Australia - this appears to be a world first. Communications firms - such as your broadband or mobile phone providers - will be compelled to hold a year's worth of your communications data.
In simple terms, police say they want to be able to get at these records, going back a year, so that if they get a lead on a suspect, they can establish more about their network or conspiracy.In simple terms, police say they want to be able to get at these records, going back a year, so that if they get a lead on a suspect, they can establish more about their network or conspiracy.
Under existing law, agencies can already ask firms to start collecting this data - but they can't access historic information because companies don't keep it. Police argue that this means many investigations into crime with an online element go cold because they can't link activity to specific people or devices.Under existing law, agencies can already ask firms to start collecting this data - but they can't access historic information because companies don't keep it. Police argue that this means many investigations into crime with an online element go cold because they can't link activity to specific people or devices.
Read more here.Read more here.
Much of the vast bill is devoted to the activities of Britain's intelligence agencies, and is focused on making clear the legal basis under which they operate, following revelations by US whistleblower Edward Snowden. The Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill said in a 194 page report it was satisfied the value of so-called Internet Connection Records to law enforcement agencies "could outweigh the intrusiveness involved in collecting and using them".
But it echoed concerns from tech firms about the feasibility of protecting users' privacy in the way Mrs May has promised, by only collecting the names of websites visited, rather than individual web pages.
The committee was told this might not be technically possible, but it said the Home Office was working with the industry to find a solution.
'Dragnet approach'
Ministers must also spell out their plans on encryption to ensure that they will not force tech firms to provide a "back door" for spies, the parliamentary committee said.
And the Home Office must also provide greater justification for the sweeping up of emails and other internet traffic passing through the UK by the security services, as revealed by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, and other so-called "bulk" data gathering exercises.
Committee chairman Lord Murphy of Torfaen said the Home Office had a "significant amount of further work to do before Parliament can be confident that the provisions have been fully thought through".
The bill was criticised as "a dragnet approach" and "disproportionate" by former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who blocked Mrs May's previous attempt to pass spying legislation, dubbed the "snooper's charter" by critics, when he was in government.
The Lib Dem MP told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the Home Office wanted to "collect everything on everyone" in order to find the information on suspected terrorists or criminals they are looking for.
"Implying that everyone may be guilty when millions of innocent people are just going about their everyday business free of any wrongdoing at all is... something which is not in keeping with long-standing British traditions," Mr Clegg said.
He asked if it was "proportionate in a liberal democracy to retain information on everything from the music you download on Spotify, to the app that you open, to the supermarket website that you visit, in order to go after the bad guys?"
He said he favoured a "narrower approach" to data retention, and that other countries concentrate on collecting data on those people who "flicker on the radar screen of security services in the first place."
Much of the vast bill is devoted to the activities of Britain's intelligence agencies, and is focused on making clear the legal basis under which they operate, following Edward Snowden's revelations.
It proposes "equipment interference" warrants, allowing spies to hack into suspects' smartphones and computers and download data from them. either within the UK or abroad.It proposes "equipment interference" warrants, allowing spies to hack into suspects' smartphones and computers and download data from them. either within the UK or abroad.
Other warrants will cover the downloading of "bulk" databases of personal data, which could include medical records, and the sweeping up internet traffic passing through the UK for future analysis by GCHQ.Other warrants will cover the downloading of "bulk" databases of personal data, which could include medical records, and the sweeping up internet traffic passing through the UK for future analysis by GCHQ.
Some of these techniques were not known to the public until recently and were covered by disparate and obscure pieces of legislation, some of which predated the internet.Some of these techniques were not known to the public until recently and were covered by disparate and obscure pieces of legislation, some of which predated the internet.
The draft bill also proposes:The draft bill also proposes:
Setting out the draft bill in November, Mrs May said it was a "significant departure" from previous plans, dubbed the "Snooper's Charter" by critics, which were blocked by the Lib Dems.
She said it would "provide some of the strongest protections and safeguards anywhere in the democratic world and an approach that sets new standards for openness, transparency and oversight".
But the Intelligence and Security Committee, chaired by Conservative MP Dominic Grieve, said earlier this week it did not do enough to protect privacy and "appears to have suffered from a lack of sufficient time and preparation".
The Home Office will take the scrutiny committee's report - and that of the ISC and two other committees - into account when drawing up the final legislation to be published later this year.