In late 2015, Theresa May, the UK Home Secretary introduced the Investigatory Powers Bill (the “Bill”). Mrs May stated that the Bill was introduced to ensure that surveillance laws are “modern, fit for purpose and can respond to emerging threats as technology advances”. The Bill, which has been published with extensive explanatory materials, fact sheets and impact assessments, sets out a raft of powers for intercepting and obtaining communications data, either in bulk or as a specific target.
The UK Government says that the Bill, in large part, brings together under one umbrella powers that already exist. And those existing powers have been extensively used: according to the Home Office figures, there were over half a million authorisations in 2014 following requests for communications data by the police and other public bodies. There were also some 2,765 interception warrants authorised by ministers in the same year.
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