Investigatory Powers Bill under scrutiny in the Lords

Our guest speaker at the last AGM of Suffolk Coastal Liberal Democrats, back in November, was Baroness Sally Hamwee. In the House of Lords recently, Sally and her fellow Liberal Democrat peers Brian Paddick and Paul Strasburger have been scrutinising the Investigatory Powers Bill. The scrutiny is ongoing but, so far, particular elements of concern include the Bill's authorisation of bulk interception, bulk equipment interference, bulk acquisition of communications data and bulk personal datasets, constituting an intrusive and inefficient collection of data about individuals. In the course of her argument, Sally quoted a recent Edinburgh Fringe work by playwright Tim Price, which offers food for thought:

"if you believe in freedom of association, if you believe in freedom to protest, if you believe in privacy, then the only way to exercise those freedoms is to be anonymous … If a Government cannot identify you, it cannot surveil you".

Sources:

Liberal Democrat Letter of the Lords, 09 September 2016

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2016-09-07/debates/16090727000541/InvestigatoryPowersBill [accessed 13 Sep 2016]