UK lawmakers said that the proposal submitted by the British government to enhance the spies' ability to rummage the Internet for any threat is confusing and fell short in protecting an individual's privacy. The draft which is called Investigatory Power Bill takes a 'piecemeal' approach to protecting privacy, says the Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee.
According to Business Standard, British police have already looked into some of the journalists' communication records and have been misusing the surveillance legislation ever since. The act was said to be unacceptable since it seized journalists' emails and phone messages in an attempt to identify sources of leaked information.
Some parts of the legislation were said to be 'inconsistent and largely incomprehensible' says the committee. Keith Vaz, who is the chairman of the committee added that utilizing the surveillance law to access records of phone calls made by journalists are wrong. The Wall Street Journal reported that the legislation would also potentially deter whistleblowers from speaking to reporters.
It is evident to most conservative lawyers that people working on the 'spy law' have not been clear and remained disorganized as to what the provisions intended to achieve. The legislation will then allow spies and police officers to access Internet connection records if the Parliament approves it, as reported by Yahoo News. Dozens of apps, messaging services and websites will now be in the hands of the authorities, which means the authorities will have full control of many information circulating on the web.
Companies which utilizes the Internet such as Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo and Facebook have already raised their voices about the legislation. Most of these Internet companies agree to the fact that the law could introduce 'risks or vulnerabilities into products or services'. The UK government will set out a final proposal in the spring.
