Important UK Report on Surveillance and Data Collection

Entitled "A Question of Trust," the report was presented to Parliament and the Prime Minister today and was authored by David Anderson QC, the UK's Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. As required under the 2014 Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act, Anderson therein undertakes a broad review of law and policy regarding "investigatory powers" in the UK—essentially government surveillance and data collection—and makes proposals for comprehensive reform.

It's the last part that is so significant, at least on first blush: It seems Anderson is calling for a significant overhauling, and radical simplification of, core UK surveillance practices.

In a press release, Anderson said this:

Modern communications networks can be used by the unscrupulous for purposes ranging from cyber-attack, terrorism and espionage to fraud, kidnap and child sexual exploitation. A successful response to these threats depends on entrusting public bodies with the powers they need to identify and follow suspects in a borderless online world.

But trust requires verification. Each intrusive power must be shown to be necessary, clearly spelled out in law, limited in accordance with international human rights standards and subject to demanding and visible safeguards.

The current law is fragmented, obscure, under constant challenge and variable in the protections that it affords the innocent. It is time for a clean slate. This Report aims to help Parliament achieve a world-class framework for the regulation of these strong and vital powers