It's "worse than scary": this is the UN’s privacy chief response to the UK government's new Investigatory Powers Bill, also known as the 'Snooper's Charter'. Not only does the bill mean an unprecedented loss of privacy within the UK, it paves the way for other countries to disregard the rights of their citizens.
Please sign this petition to demand that the government repeals the Investigatory Powers Bill.
The new surveillance laws will mean that everyone’s web browsing histories will be stored for 12 months, and security services will have unprecedented access to this personal data. Even more worryingly, the bill gives the police new powers to hack into computers and phones, to turn on microphones and bug conversations, and to collect communications data in bulk.
Innocent or guilty, we are under inescapable scrutiny thanks to the Snooper's Charter.
Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, responded to the home secretary’s “world-leading” claim, saying: “She is right, it is one of the most extreme surveillance laws ever passed in a democracy.”
The measure has also been described as “a death sentence for investigative journalism” in the UK, undermining one of the most valued pillars of a democratic society.
This bill is not designed to protect us, it's designed to take away our freedom. Please sign this petition to demand that the bill be repealed. If enough people sign, it will send a clear message to the UK government that the world is watching and we will not accept this stripping away of our rights.
