U.K. Approves Unprecedented Surveillance Powers

On November 29, 2016, a law was passed in the U.K. that dramatically expands the scope of domestic surveillance. The Investigatory Powers Bill was approved by legislators and granted royal assent in a move that continues the transformation of the U.K. into a modern version of Orwell’s ideal surveillance state. The Investigatory Powers Bill both

retroactively makes legal the spying exposed by Edward Snowden and grants sweeping powers of Internet data collection to police and government officials. The new law was initially opposed by the Labour Party but due to internal party strife and a focus on Britain’s exit from the EU, political attention and media coverage was shifted away from privacy concerns. READ MORE