Police will now be able to hack into phones and check browsing history after the Snoopers’ Charter’ was passed by Parliament. The Investigatory Powers Bill forces electronic data to be stored by app companies for 12 months, which can be subsequently collected by law enforcement. The act replaces the current Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. The Government sees the charter as essential to combating terrorism and organised crime, while critics have cited it as an attack on privacy.
It was passed by the House of Lords today after they backed down on an amendment that would have forced the press to pay court costs for both parties in any case involving allegations of phone or email hacking, even if they were completely spurious.
Last night, campaigners in the Lords signalled their intention to continue to push for the controversial changes by tacking them on to another bill.
The stand-off between the two houses came to an end after MPs rejected for a second time the peers’ changes to the Investigatory Powers Bill on Tuesday. The following day the Lords accepted defeat in what will be seen as a victory for Press freedom.
Aside from the controversy surrounding its morality, the charter’s effectiveness has also been questioned, with Virtual Private Network software already being highlighted as a potential way for internet users of getting around it.
Using a VPN means data will be scrambled and protected from the company that provides the connection.
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