Campaigners call for a curb on the scale of police access to private communications data as the Tories prepare to expand surveillance powers
Ministers are facing calls to curb the scale of police access to private phone and email records, after a report by privacy campaigners found officers were making a request every two minutes and getting access in 93% of cases.
The figures, released to Big Brother Watch under freedom of information laws, found there were more than 730,000 requests for communications data between 2012 and 2014 from forces across the UK. There were annual increases in applications in each of those years, peaking at just under 250,000 last year, according to the report.
Increased transparency and independent judicial approval should be introduced as standard
Related: Security services' powers to be extended in wide-ranging surveillance bill
This information helps to disrupt terrorist plots, smash criminal networks and keep us safe
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.
Ministers are facing calls to curb the scale of police access to private phone and email records, after a report by privacy campaigners found officers were making a request every two minutes and getting access in 93% of cases.
The figures, released to Big Brother Watch under freedom of information laws, found there were more than 730,000 requests for communications data between 2012 and 2014 from forces across the UK. There were annual increases in applications in each of those years, peaking at just under 250,000 last year, according to the report.
Increased transparency and independent judicial approval should be introduced as standard
Related: Security services' powers to be extended in wide-ranging surveillance bill
This information helps to disrupt terrorist plots, smash criminal networks and keep us safe
Continue reading... Reported by guardian.co.uk 20 hours ago.