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British and Dutch states challenged on snooping
As Liberty in the UK and Sleepwet in the Netherlands challenge the extent of state surveillance, JULIAN VIGO calls for public advocacy and local activism to protect the rights of privacy

The UK’s new web spying rules are taking shape despite the legislation governing it, the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), having become law late last year. There is so much left unresolved about what this Act represents.

For instance, the IPA, also known as the “snoopers’ charter,” represents a massive extension of the surveillance power of the state. It requires internet companies to keep customers’ web traffic history for 12 months. It also gives spying agencies and police powers the ability to conduct the mass hacking of IT infrastructures, personal computers, smartphones and any electronic device.

Just a year ago, National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden labelled this as “the most extreme surveillance in the history of Western democracy. It goes further than many autocracies.”

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