A leaked document has revealed that the U.S. intelligence community can access the servers of nine Internet companies, giving them access to a huge range of personal data including search histories, email content, file transfers and live chats. The revelation about this top-secret program followed news that Verzion, one of the largest US telecoms providers, is also handing the telephone records of millions of Americans to security services. The secrecy shrouding this massive extension of surveillance powers prevented any proper scrutiny of the frightening developments.
A few weeks ago it looked like we had fought off similar
proposals of our own in the form of the so-called Snoopers’ Charter. But
barely hours after Lee Rigby was murdered, a few politicians were trying to
rehash the plans. Not only was it uncomfortable to watch this brutal attack being spun for political ends, it
was a reminder of how Charter proponents have attempted to make their proposals
reality by fuelling fear and ignoring evidence. In fact just days later The
Independent quoted a senior security source who said the proposals would
not have helped prevent Lee Rigby’s murder.
When even companies like Google and Facebook – not best known for their reverence for privacy – warn that surveillance proposals are unworkable and threaten freedom, you’d think the Government might listen. Internet giants such as Twitter, Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Yahoo! have written to the Home Secretary, saying that the plans remain “expensive to implement and highly contentious”. They also say that, if put in place, they risk jeopardising the UK’s role in promoting freedom of expression around the world. This creates a big problem for the Home Office who have always claimed that their plans to collect details of our online activity depend on cooperation with communication service providers. It’s encouraging to see those same companies condemning the plans and recognising the importance of civil liberties online.
They’re the most recent addition to the list of high-profile people and organisations to come out against the Charter, and it appears that the public agree. A poll for the Mail on Sunday found that less than half – only 40% - of those polled felt the Government should revive the proposals in the wake of the Woolwich atrocity.
The massive expansion of FISA powers in the States has been kept as secret as possible. The lack of consultation in the UK, and the fight to get the Home Office to even explain what they wanted to do with the breathtakingly wide powers demanded, reveals a parallel lack of transparency here. The Snoopers’ Charter would open a pandora’s box, co-opting private companies into handing over intimate details about our lives and turning us all into suspects, not citizens. We must resist any home-grown attempts to set us on the path to mass surveillance.
