ORG Responds to Government’s proposed changes to the Investigatory Powers Act

Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group said:

“The government has evaded the main point of the Watson judgment: they cannot keep data on a blanket basis.

“Without narrowing what they keep to specific places, incidents or investigations, these changes will not meet the standards set by the courts.

“Combined with the so-called Request Filter, which could be a power for a police search engine for retained data, this will remain an incredibly intrusive surveillance power, unparalleled in democratic countries.”

Notes for the editor

Following a judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union setting out the requirements for data retention schemes to be considered compliant with EU law, the Government has opened a consulation on a proposed a series of changes in an attempt to ensure UK law is brought in to line.