Investigatory Powers Bill ‘fails to deliver clarity’

The draft Investigatory Powers Bill ‘fails to deliver clarity’, according to a report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC). The report says that it supports the government’s ‘broad intent’ to provide greater transparency regarding the new legislation and commended the powers for explicit authorisation for bulk personal datasets, bulk communications data and computer network exploitation. However, Dominic Grieve, chairman of the ISC, warns that the Bill is limited in the ‘extent to which it can provide a comprehensive legal framework’, as various powers and authorisations remain scattered throughout different pieces of legislation. Grieve argues that, on a whole, the Bill ‘fails to deliver the clarity that is so badly needed’ and suggests that even those working on the legislation have not always been clear as to what the provisions are intended to achieve. The report also criticises the government for taking a ‘piecemeal approach’ to privacy protections that ‘lack clarity’ and undermine the importance of safeguards. In response to this, the ISC recommends that a ‘substantive amendment is required’ to include a new part of the Bill dedicated to overarching privacy protections.