Britain’s
intelligence services have officially been given the most
wide-ranging and privacy-invading mass surveillance powers in the
world, according to critics, after the Investigatory Powers Act
became law on Tuesday.
The
legislation, dubbed the ‘snooper’s charter,’ authorizes the
government to hack into devices, networks and services in bulk, and
allows for large databases of personal information on UK citizens to
be maintained.
It
requires internet, phone and communication app companies to store
customers’ records for 12 months and allow authorities to access
them on demand.
That
data could be anything from internet search history, calls made or
messages sent, and will be available to a wide range of agencies,
including the Department for Work and Pensions as well as the Food
Standards Agency.
Security
agencies will also be able to force companies to decrypt data,
effectively placing limits on the use of end-to-end encryption.
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