Jump to content

Extreme surveillance becomes UK law


Feb82000

Recommended Posts

hi all what do you all think of this new law  snoopers charter ip bill passed by parliament and will become law with in weeks uk going be like north korea soon we will have every thing we do by phone or internet watched every day 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, scottishhighlands said:

hi all what do you all think of this new law  snoopers charter ip bill passed by parliament and will become law with in weeks uk going be like north korea soon we will have every thing we do by phone or internet watched every day 

 

Maybe the way round this is to communicate using a code impenetrable to everyone else.

Edited by Charles Bannerman
  • Disagree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, scottishhighlands said:

hi all what do you all think of this new law  snoopers charter ip bill passed by parliament and will become law with in weeks uk going be like north korea soon we will have every thing we do by phone or internet watched every day 

You already do. we all do !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Guardian reports that this (The Investigatory Powers Act) went through parliament with barely a whimper.  I think it is important to reflect why any opposition was relatively token rather than full on.  It is easy to brand such legislation as a "snoopers charters" but the reality is quite different.

I'm sure we all worry about our privacy, but personally, I worry about my freedom more.  The Act may give the authorities new and extensive powers but I am firmly of the view that if you are a law abiding citizen you have nothing to fear.  Why on earth would the authorities waste time watching everything we do?  What is important is that the authorities have the necessary powers to collect evidence to address the kind of crimes that threaten us.  With massive advances in modern technology going hand in hand with the rise in cyber crime, terrorism etc it is important that those protecting our freedoms have the necessary legal powers.

One Lib Dem peer is reported to have argued that the danger of this type of legislation is that if we were to have a far more repressive Government, then the powers in this act would allow them to monitor us as you suggest.  But the thing is, if such a Government as that was to come into power without the legislation being in place, they would either put the legislation in place or just do it anyway.

Senior political leaders are privy to information that we are not.  They will know what the authorities assess the threats to our freedoms to be.  I am sure it is their recognition of the threats we face and the powers required to combat them that led them to only lip service opposition.  Whilst I understand a feeling of unease, I think this is probably a necessary reflection of the times we live in.

  • Agree 1
  • Disagree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

hi all a update on this law  The Queen has given Royal Assent to the controversial Investigatory Powers  bill  we now have no privacy on what things we do bye texts or phone calls or Internet and even the newspapers in the uk Like the Highland news will not tell the people in the Highlands about this new Bill 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, scottishhighlands said:

hi all a update on this law  The Queen has given Royal Assent to the controversial Investigatory Powers  bill  we now have no privacy on what things we do bye texts or phone calls or Internet and even the newspapers in the uk Like the Highland news will not tell the people in the Highlands about this new Bill 

Ok..... so you seem to be saying that an Investigatory Powers bill has gone through the entire legislative process and passed into law but there is either a blanket ban on the media telling the public about it or a media conspiracy not to reveal its details or even its existence..... except that you know about it?

  • Disagree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

its a   media conspiracy not to reveal its details  all the big news papers in the uk and there big tv news channels are part of it as well sky news and the bbc Looks like it they are all Scared of the uk  government

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's such a conspiracy that everything you might want to know about it is freely available on the Government's own website.  You can read all about it at http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2015-16/investigatorypowers.html

The reason we haven't heard a lot about it is simply that opposition parties, the media in general and the usual civil rights campaign groups don't see it as something to get too excited about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎19‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 2:04 PM, DoofersDad said:

The Guardian reports that this (The Investigatory Powers Act) went through parliament with barely a whimper.  I think it is important to reflect why any opposition was relatively token rather than full on.  It is easy to brand such legislation as a "snoopers charters" but the reality is quite different.

I'm sure we all worry about our privacy, but personally, I worry about my freedom more.  The Act may give the authorities new and extensive powers but I am firmly of the view that if you are a law abiding citizen you have nothing to fear.  Why on earth would the authorities waste time watching everything we do?  What is important is that the authorities have the necessary powers to collect evidence to address the kind of crimes that threaten us.  With massive advances in modern technology going hand in hand with the rise in cyber crime, terrorism etc it is important that those protecting our freedoms have the necessary legal powers.

One Lib Dem peer is reported to have argued that the danger of this type of legislation is that if we were to have a far more repressive Government, then the powers in this act would allow them to monitor us as you suggest.  But the thing is, if such a Government as that was to come into power without the legislation being in place, they would either put the legislation in place or just do it anyway.

Senior political leaders are privy to information that we are not.  They will know what the authorities assess the threats to our freedoms to be.  I am sure it is their recognition of the threats we face and the powers required to combat them that led them to only lip service opposition.  Whilst I understand a feeling of unease, I think this is probably a necessary reflection of the times we live in.

Personally, I think that the if you are doing nothing wrong you have nothing to fear argument is rather naïve and misses the point. Any government does, of course, have an obligation to counter crime and particularly terrorism and to keep it's citizens safe but any much measures have to be proportional and balanced against the basic human right to personal privacy.

In days gone by any interference with mail or telephone tapping had to be personally authorised by the Home Secretary and such cases typically numbered no more than a few hundred a year. Now we have a system that gives the government carte blanche to monitor the modern day equivalent communications of tens of millions of ordinary citizens at the whim of relatively junior officers at GCHQ possibly on the basis that someone is in possession of dangerously brown skin pigment or may be known to be vocal in their local mosque

Even if you trust the current UK government to use these rights responsibly and proportionately to you not think that the CIA has considerable access to our intelligence community and do you really believe that the incoming US administration are interested in any human rights, except perhaps for the right of it's own nutters to bear arms, far less the basic right not to be pried on by the state.

There is no doubt that the legislation needed to be updated to take account of technological developments and, more particularly geo political changed in the world but this piece of legislation shifts the balance too far.

Edited by Kingsmills
  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. : Terms of Use : Guidelines : Privacy Policy