Report on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill

Download or read book Report on the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill written by Great Britain: Intelligence And Security Committee and published by . This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 13 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In March 2015, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) published Privacy and Security: A modern and transparent legal frameworkThis was a detailed investigation into the intrusive capabilities used by the Agencies. The Committee concluded that the investigatory powers the Agencies were authorised to employ were necessary and proportionate - and they remain of this view. However, the Committee did not consider that there was sufficient openness or transparency about those powers. Their key recommendation therefore was that the current legal framework governing the Agencies' powers should be replaced by a new Act of Parliament, clearly setting out all the intrusive powers available to the Agencies, the purposes for which they may use them, and the authorisation required before they may do so. In November 2015, the Government published the draft Investigatory Powers Bill. The draft Bill makes some attempt to improve transparency; however, the Committee is disappointed to note that it does not cover all the Agencies' intrusive capabilities. This failure to address the Committee's key recommendation means that various powers and authorisations remain scattered throughout different pieces of legislation. As a result, the draft Bill is handicapped from the outset in terms of the extent to which it can provide a clear and comprehensive legal framework to govern the use and oversight of investigatory powers. This Report outlines the issues that the Committee believes are cause for concern.