‘Snoopers charter’ data privacy lawsuit overview:
- Who: Advocacy group Liberty says it attained a “landmark” victory in a data privacy lawsuit.
- Why: The High Court of Justice agreed with Liberty that the Snoopers Charter failed to adequately safeguard individuals’ private telecom communications.
- Where: The High Court of Justice decided the case.
Liberty, a civil rights advocacy group, reportedly won a “landmark” victory in a data privacy case it launched against security services for allegedly unlawfully obtaining individuals’ communication data from telecom providers.
The group posted news of its June 24 legal win on its website after the High Court of Justice ruled that MI5, MI6 and GCHQ cannot obtain criminal suspects’ communications data from telecom providers without first obtaining independent authorisation to do so.
Liberty’s data privacy lawsuit challenged the Investigatory Powers Act, also called the Snoopers Charter, which allegedly allowed state agencies to access private communications such as telephone records, text messages, internet browsing history and location history.
Under the Snoopers’ Charter, the agencies could allegedly access individuals’ communication data even if they did not suspect them of wrongdoing.
“We all want to have control over our personal information and to have a government that respects our rights to privacy and freedom of expression,” Liberty’s lawyer Megan Goulding says in the news release. “This judgment is a major victory in the fight against mass surveillance.”
“Mass surveillance powers do not make us safer, they breach our privacy and undermine core pillars of our democracy. Today represents a huge landmark in reining in mass surveillance powers, and we hope now the Government creates proper safeguards that protect our rights.”
‘Snoopers Charter’ failed to adequately safeguard individuals’ private communications, court finds
Lord Justice Singh and Mr. Justice Holgate issued the ruling on Friday and agreed with Liberty’s argument that part of the Snoopers’ Charter failed to comply with a requirement for independent authorisation to access telecom communications information.
Following this important legal decision, security services will no longer be authorized to obtain detailed information about individuals from telecom providers without independent approval, according to the news notice.
Liberty says police were already bound by the requirement to obtain independent approval to ensure the data collection is necessary and proportionate. This latest ruling will reportedly hold security services to that same standard.
“When the security and intelligence agencies act for an ordinary criminal purpose, we cannot see any logical or practical reason why they should not be subject to the same legal regime as the police,” the judges said in their decision.
Data privacy is a contentious issue in the UK. In 2020, two rights groups sought to challenge the National Health Service Test and Trace privacy violations, which allegedly allows businesses, including restaurants and bars, to collect customers’ data.
Do you think this ruling does enough to protect individuals’ privacy under the Snoopers’ Charter? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
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