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-33092894
The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Surveillance powers: New law needed, says terror watchdog | Surveillance powers: New law needed, says terror watchdog |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Clear new laws are needed to cover security services' powers to monitor online activity, the UK's terror watchdog has said. | Clear new laws are needed to cover security services' powers to monitor online activity, the UK's terror watchdog has said. |
| David Anderson QC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said the UK needed "comprehensive and comprehensible" intrusive powers rules. | |
| Existing legislation was "fragmented" and "obscure", he said in a 300-page report. | Existing legislation was "fragmented" and "obscure", he said in a 300-page report. |
| Ministers want new laws to help police and agencies monitor online threats. | Ministers want new laws to help police and agencies monitor online threats. |
| But critics have dubbed government proposals a "snooper's charter" because they predict the plans will infringe privacy. | |
| Home Secretary Theresa May said the report provided a firm basis for consultation on the new legislation which would come in the autumn. | |
| Mr Anderson's report, called A Question Of Trust, was commissioned by the prime minister as part of the government's plans to modernise what types of activity security agencies can capture in their pursuit of criminals and terrorists. | Mr Anderson's report, called A Question Of Trust, was commissioned by the prime minister as part of the government's plans to modernise what types of activity security agencies can capture in their pursuit of criminals and terrorists. |
| The current legislation pre-dates most internet-led communications such as apps and social media. | The current legislation pre-dates most internet-led communications such as apps and social media. |
| The report recommends that: | The report recommends that: |
| Investigatory powers explained | Investigatory powers explained |
| Mr Anderson said: "Modern communications can be used by the unscrupulous for purposes ranging from cyber-attack, terrorism and espionage to fraud, kidnap and child sexual exploitation. | Mr Anderson said: "Modern communications can be used by the unscrupulous for purposes ranging from cyber-attack, terrorism and espionage to fraud, kidnap and child sexual exploitation. |
| "A successful response to these threats depends on entrusting public bodies with the powers they need to identify and follow suspects in a borderless online world. But trust requires verification." | "A successful response to these threats depends on entrusting public bodies with the powers they need to identify and follow suspects in a borderless online world. But trust requires verification." |
| He went on: "Each intrusive power must be shown to be necessary, clearly spelled out in law, limited in accordance with international human rights standards and subject to demanding and visible safeguards. | He went on: "Each intrusive power must be shown to be necessary, clearly spelled out in law, limited in accordance with international human rights standards and subject to demanding and visible safeguards. |
| "The current law is fragmented, obscure, under constant challenge and variable in the protections that it affords the innocent. It is time for a clean slate. This report aims to help Parliament achieve a world-class framework for the regulation of these strong and vital powers." | "The current law is fragmented, obscure, under constant challenge and variable in the protections that it affords the innocent. It is time for a clean slate. This report aims to help Parliament achieve a world-class framework for the regulation of these strong and vital powers." |
| In his report, Mr Anderson said that in the digital world, as in the real world, "no-go areas" for intelligence and law enforcement agencies should be minimised. | |
| "The agencies do not look to legislation to give themselves a permanent trump card," he wrote. | |
| "Neither they nor anyone else has made a case to me for encryption to be placed under effective government control. | |
| "Far preferable, on any view, is a law-based system in which encryption keys are handed over - by service providers or by the users themselves - only after properly authorised requests." | |
| The government's forthcoming communications data legislation was first mooted by Tony Blair's government and then dropped - before being revived under the coalition. | |
| The current home secretary was then forced to drop the plan after the Liberal Democrats blocked it. | |
| 'Evolving threats' | |
| Speaking in the House of Commons, Mrs May welcomed Mr Anderson's report, insisting that the UK must not overlook how threats were evolving. | |
| She said: "They include not just terrorism from overseas and home grown in the UK, but also industrial, military and state espionage. | |
| "They include not just organised criminality but also the proliferation of once physical crimes online such as child sexual exploitation and the technological challenges that brings." | |
| "In the face of such threats, we have a duty to ensure that the agencies whose job it is to keep us safe have the powers they need to do the job," she added. | |
| National Police Chiefs' Council chair, Sara Thornton, said crime was increasingly being committed or arranged online - whether by fraudsters, rapists, child abusers or terrorists. | |
| "At the same time, our access to communications data is rapidly degrading and it is important that the public are aware of the impact this is having," she said. | |
| Ms Thornton said access to modern communications data was essential for the broadest range of crimes, including tracking down missing children. | |
| "In recent years, more blind spots have developed where police cannot effectively trace criminal activity. | |
| "Children have been driven to self-harm by harassment and bullying online but our attempts to investigate and stop it are curtailed by our inability to see who is talking to them on social media. | |
| "We are struggling to track down paedophiles who are arranging and streaming the sexual abuse of children on the web because we can't get access to information on servers in other countries or our current powers don't let us get through some encryptions." |