If the Snoopers’ Charter really is dead in the water, that’s cause for significant celebration and much relief. These plans would have seen the mass storage and collection of information about the web habits of the whole country – turning us into a nation of suspects, rather than citizens. Details of every text, email and call made – along with the addresses of every website visited – would have been stored for future possible access by the Government.
These days, people live more and more of their intimate lives online and this kind of “communications data” can build up an incredibly personal picture of someone. It was outrageous to ever propose such surveillance of the entire population. Of course bad things happen online, but “updating” surveillance so as to allow no privacy whatsoever on the web wasn’t the answer. You wouldn’t install cameras and microphones in every bedroom in the land – just in case a crime might one day occur there. As Julian Huppert MP, who fought particularly hard against the scheme, said: “These plans were based on scant evidence, scaremongering and a disregard for our personal lives; treating everyone as a suspect and our online activity as ‘fair game’.”
Credit must go to everyone in Westminster and beyond who had the imagination and courage to block these terrifying proposals. Business, civil rights groups, influential parliamentary committees and technology experts came together and saw the Snoopers’ Charter for the dangerous window to our souls it was. And Liberty’s members have campaigned tirelessly to stop this illiberal Bill – signing petitions and e-mailing their local MPs, urging them to pressure the Home Secretary into scrapping the plans.
The defeat of the Snoopers’ Charter is truly at the hands of our members and supporters. Thanks for your support!
