Image: Shutterstock/Frederic Legrand
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Under the European ruling, that meant that the UK's law using this directive also risked a court challenge, so the government either had to change their law or stop using the surveillance method. The UK law required companies to hold onto the data for 12 months, according to Open Rights Group.Today, the UK is essentially just keeping those powers up and running. But they’re also making some changes. In a rather surprising move from the usually tight-lipped office, the bill will introduce new oversight methods, including the establishment of a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. The government will also publish annual transparency reports, “making more information publicly available than ever before on the way that surveillance powers operate.”In a tweet this morning, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that the powers were necessary “to help keep us safe from those who would harm UK citizens.” This isn't just terrorists, according to details in the legislation. The government emphasises how these powers are important to combat everything from murder to sexual exploitation, drug crimes, door step fraud (a crime where someone, typically a senior citizen, is scammed by people coming to their house), and locating vulnerable individuals.I'll be explaining today why emergency legislation is needed to maintain powers to help keep us safe from those who would harm UK citizens.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) July 10, 2014
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