Necessity and legality of proposed new communication surveillance powers to be scrutinised

The UK government published a draft Investigatory Powers Bill earlier this month in a bid to close gaps it has said exist in the surveillance powers available to the UK's intelligence and security services.

A committee made up of both MPs and peers has been set up to scrutinise the Bill and has now invited input from stakeholders by launching a call for evidence (4-page / 185KB PDF).

The Investigatory Powers Bill would, among other things, give UK law enforcement and intelligence agencies the power to require telecommunication service providers to retain and hand over communications data, which includes "internet connection records" (ICRs) for the first time, to help combat terrorism, serious crime or protect the UK's economic interests, among other limited purposes provided for in the legislation.

The Bill also sets out proposed rules on the interception of communications, bulk data gathering and equipment interference activities.

Communication service providers could be compelled to set up filtering systems to help with the targeting of requests for communications data, according to the proposed new legislation.

The Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill said it wants stakeholders to provide it with evidence on the extent to which it is "necessary for the security and intelligence services and law enforcement to have access to investigatory powers" like the ones planned under the Bill.

The committee has also invited evidence on whether the proposed new laws are compatible with the UK's Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Whether stakeholders believe the powers envisaged under the Bill are "workable and carefully defined" is also of interest to the committee.

Other questions the committee has asked for input on address specific aspects of the Bill, and range from whether the "proposed authorisation processes" for intercepting communications are "appropriate", to whether it is essential that the authorities have access to ICRs.

Evidence is also requested on the oversight arrangements and on whether the data retention rules envisaged under the Bill accord with an EU court ruling which saw EU data retention rules deemed unlawful for disproportionately infringing privacy rights. New data retention laws have been implemented in the UK since the Court of Justice of the EU's ruling, but those laws are the subject of an ongoing legal challenge.

Stakeholders have until 21 December to submit their written evidence. The committee is scheduled to report on the Bill in February next year. The Science and Technology Committee has separately been assessing whether it will be technologically feasible for communication providers to comply with the Bill's requirements.

Lord Murphy of Torfaen, chairman of the Joint Committee on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill, said: "This is an extremely important draft Bill, and the necessity of ensuring that our security services and law enforcement agencies have appropriate tools to combat terrorism and serious crime has never been more apparent."

"This committee will be examining whether the draft Bill provides for the correct powers and whether a compelling operational case can be made for all those powers. It will also scrutinise the proposed authorisation and oversight regimes to ensure that these powers will be properly used. The committee's conclusions will be dependent on the quality of evidence it receives, so it would very much like to hear from anyone with an interest in these areas," he said.