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The law is not exactly the most exciting piece of legislation—as some commentators have pointed out—but it is an important one. It will continue to force telecom and phone companies to keep their customers' metadata, despite a recent European court case ruling that holding onto data in this sort of way is unconstitutional. On top of that, and in contrast to the government's line that it will just maintain the status quo, experts have said that it will actually increase the state's surveillance powers. Your information will be stored even if you are not suspected of committing a crime, and the 'emergency' law has been justified as necessary for combating terrorism and serious crime.In all, 49 MPs voted against DRIP and an overwhelming 436 for it, meaning that all of the necessary stages in the House of Commons have been completed. Before it becomes law, it needs to pass the House of Lords, proceedings of which are expected to start this afternoon. Once that happens, there will be no further opportunity for Parliament to debate its terms.This is how seriously our MPs take our privacy. Key, critical debate. Almost no-one there. #DRIP pic.twitter.com/788G62aSRB
— Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) July 15, 2014
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