UK intelligence services have been taking advantage of gaps in the international rules to conduct bulk interception of Internet traffic.  That practice came under scrutiny in the European Court of Human Rights, in a ruling that was released this week.

 The case of Big Brother Watch and Others v the United Kingdom was brought to the Court by human rights activist groups who were concerned about the mass online surveillance being carried out by UK intelligence services. It has resulted in a ruling that lays out essential ground rules for protecting privacy.  

Read more: UK bulk intercept surveillance - court ruling calls for tighter safeguards

The European Parliament  today adopted a data protection package  that is being described as 'historic' and monumental'.  The new EU measures  update data protection rules for the era of the Internet and social media, including the use of data by  police  and law enforcement. The hot buttons have been the transfer of data outside the EU – especially to the United States -  and how the large digital corporations may exploit data for commercial purposes. For whose benefit is this law and how should we regard it?

Read more: EU 'historic' data protection rules highlight privacy paradox

“The Home Secretary says it is world leading. Not all people agree with that. Some think it is leading the world over a cliff”.  Not my words but those of David Anderson Q.C. speaking yesterday at a symposium on the Investigatory Powers Bill hosted by 25 Bedford Row barristers chambers.

The  Investigatory Powers Bill comes up for scrutiny  in Parliament tomorrow, as the British government tries to push it through before the end of the year. This is the controversial new law  that will govern electronic surveillance. But legal experts, who are not usually given to emotive language, say the Bill is bad  law,  and nothing more than window dressing.  From a public interest perspective, the government is rushing the Bill unnecessarily. How safe will our data be under the proposed regime?  Will we fall over a digital cliff as the spooks get to play with our Internet connection records?

This report is my interpretation of the legal arguments presented at the 25 Bedford Row symposium on the Investigatory Powers Bill.

Read more: Investigatory Powers Bill - is it leading the world over a cliff?