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GCHQ Spy Agency Given Illegal Access To Citizens' Data (ft.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

The British government broke the law by allowing spy agencies to amass data on UK citizens without proper oversight from the Foreign Office, an independent tribunal has ruled. From a report: GCHQ, the UK's electronic surveillance agency, was given vastly increased powers to obtain and analyze citizens' data after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, on the condition that it agreed to strict oversight from the foreign secretary. But according to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, an independent court that was set up by the government to investigate unlawful intrusion by public bodies in the UK, the Foreign Office on several occasions gave GCHQ an effective "carte blanche" to demand data from telecoms and internet companies [Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source], which could include visited websites, location information and email contacts. In a judgment published on Monday, the tribunal said: "In cases in which ... the foreign secretary made a general direction which applied to all communications through the networks operated by the [communications service provider], there had been an unlawful delegation of the power. "The lack of legal control on the discretion of [GCHQ] is compounded in those cases where the specific requirement was not communicated in writing."

5 of 46 comments (clear)

  1. Uh oh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This could get ugly...someone might actually get a warning not to do it again! Or even worse...a verbal dressing down and then a warning not to do it again!

    1. Re:Uh oh... by infolation · · Score: 5, Informative

      This could get ugly...someone might actually get a warning not to do it again!

      Even less than that. I prefer The Register's way of putting it:

      UK spies broke law for 15 years, but what can you do? shrugs judge. Appeal against my latest judgment? Oh wait, you can't!

    2. Re:Uh oh... by Mashiki · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Empire to one side of the world to the other where the sun never sets. Manages to piss it all away in a generation and a half, and oppresses their own subjects(not citizens of course), harder then under the monarchy. Sure makes you wonder why people haven't uniformly snapped yet.

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    3. Re:Uh oh... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      At least now when the police try to imply that using a VPN is evidence of criminal activity you can point out that it's self defence against the criminals they failed to stop.

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  2. Only one side has to play by the rules. by ErikTheRed · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What do you call a government where only the proles have to obey the "laws?" Totalitarian? Yeah, I think that's it. Can we please now stop pretending our governments are in any way, shape, or form represent the peoplpe?

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