Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has said that the government’s Investigatory Powers Bill – commonly referred to as the Snoopers’ Charter – fails to deliver much needed clarity.
In its report, published today, the ISC – responsible for overseeing the country’s intelligence agencies – argues that the preparation of the draft bill suffered from a lack of “time and preparation”.
It adds: “Therefore while we are conscious of the time constraints upon the Government due to the sunset clause in the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014, we would urge them to take time when bringing forward the new legislation in order to construct a comprehensive and clear framework for authorising the actions of the intelligence agencies.”
Although supportive of the agencies’ use of investigatory powers where “necessary and proportionate”, the ISC says it is disappointed to see that the draft Bill did not cover all of the agencies’ intrusive capabilities.
“This means that the various powers and authorisation remains scattered throughout different pieces of legislation and, as a result, the draft Bill is limited in the extent to which it can provide a comprehensive legal framework, ” said the Committee, adding “In our view this is a missed opportunity”.
Opinions on the draft
The ISC’s report comes after the Science and Technology Committee warned that the Bill risked undermining the UK’s tech sector last month.
Speaking about the ISC’s report, Antony Walker, deputy CEO of techUK, said: “Today’s report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament again makes it clear that the bill lacks clarity on fundamental issues, such as core definitions of key terms within the draft Bill, encryption and equipment interference.
“Our members are unsure exactly what is meant by Internet Connection Records (ICRs), how they will be gathered, stored and accessed. This kind of detail is crucial to understanding the impact of the proposed Bill,”he added.