Tag: snooper’s charter

GCHQ broke the law for over a decade

A British surveillance oversight authority known as the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled that Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the U.K.'s equivalent of America's National Security Agency (NSA), has engaged in illegal activity for the past ten years and longer in accessing vast troves of data from telecommunications companies. The IPT said that "successive foreign secretaries … Continue reading GCHQ broke the law for over a decade

UKUSA surveillance ‘special relationship’ likely to survive, expand in Trump era

Amidst ongoing criticism of President Donald Trump's attitude towards Russia, a fear has reportedly emerged in some segments of the US intelligence community that America's longstanding intelligence sharing relationships with other countries could suffer. Recent events seem to indicate, however, that this is unlikely. Historically, America has had its strongest intelligence sharing relationships with its … Continue reading UKUSA surveillance ‘special relationship’ likely to survive, expand in Trump era

UK court rules spy agencies illegally collected data, can continue surveillance

From the late 1990s until just under a year ago, UK intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ illegally collected data on citizens, according to a new ruling from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which oversees the spy services. The tribunal found that for 17 years, from the mass surveillance programs' inception in 1998 until last November, … Continue reading UK court rules spy agencies illegally collected data, can continue surveillance