The hacking scandal and the dramatic closure of the News Of The World tabloid, have brought issues of personal privacy to the forefront of mainstream political discourse in the United Kingdom. But in a post-9/11 world, and in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings, the UK has always tried to strike an ideal balance between surveillance measures and privacy protections.
Having secured its place as the strongest ally to the United States in the war on terror, the country finds itself in the crosshairs of extremist groups. And in efforts to counter that threat, the UK offers one of the most interesting landscapes in the discussion of privacy and civil liberties and their continuous tug of war with national security concerns.
In the UK, the right to individual privacy has enjoyed a respectable presence for a very long time. But in the last 10 years, the country has also been a de facto leader in embracing surveillance technologies at various levels. Outlined below are some of the major programs that have been at the center of the surveillance debate:
Interception Modernization Programme
A mechanism proposed by the previous Labour government for storing communication data is being revived by the current government. It has found a place in the new counter-terror strategy being planned by the government that provides a greater focus on threats from cyber-terrorism.
At present the government’s anti-terrorism charter lays down a voluntary code for telecommunication providers to store data, but it isn’t compulsory. A London School of Economics study on the IMP in 2009 said that “the United Kingdom Government is again leading the debate by pushing for new collection and greater powers on a previously unseen scale.”
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
This act, passed in 2000, provides a list of various government departments and officials who can access retained data. While the law was directed at curbing the threat of terrorism, controversy has swirled around the potential for abuse of the act’s authorities. Media reports say more than half a million requests for personal data were made last year. Some of them also involved requests from local councils to use the data for town hall-level issues. A new proposal could provide safeguards to the act by requiring that all local council data requests be approved by a magistrate.
E-Borders
The country’s Border Agency uses an electronic system e-Borders to carry out background checks on people traveling in and out of the UK before they start their journey. This is based on the personal information that they provide to the air carrier. The program sparked concerns across the European Union and questions on the legality of the proposal were raised both by the EU and Members of Parliament in the UK.
According to the Data Protection Act, individuals can check the information held about them by the Border Agency and they are entitled to be informed of the logic behind any decision taken on the basis of the information presented to the agency.
With a large web of surveillance technologies in place, the government under Prime Minister David Cameron has been taking measures to repeal some of the existing controversial programs. The government has outlined plans to curtail the National DNA database of criminals and has put an end to ContactPoint, a data bank that held information on all children under 18.
On the other hand, the government has plowed ahead with programs such as the Intercept Modernization Program and has also been making the case for increasing the data retention period of passenger records from five to 15 years.
With the UK forced to continuously keep up its guard and a regular feed on the Home Office website showing terrorism threat levels, the government faces a serious challenge in balancing privacy interests with ongoing counterterrorism efforts.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
Briefing on the Interception Modernisation Programme
