Index on Censorship has submitted our concerns about the UK
government’s proposed Communications Data Bill (widely known as
the “snoopers charter”). We have several concerns about the
government’s proposals, as surveillance and retention of data
can undoubtedly have an effect on free expression. I’ll
reproduce the introduction to our submission, which outlines our
concerns, here, and you can read the full submission below. The
Communications Data Bill as currently drafted would directly
undermine both the right to privacy and the right to freedom of
expression by making surveillance and storage of UK citizens’
communications data the norm. These rights are enshrined in
Articles 8 and 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and in the
European Convention on Human Rights and in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The UNDR explicitly states that:
“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence”. Collection and
filtering of communications data across the whole