With the Joint Committee publishing its report a mere nineteen days ago to conclude the pre-legislative parliamentary scrutiny, ISPA is disappointed that the Home Office has moved forward with a revised Bill in such a short space of time. It is widely agreed that a new legislative framework is needed that balances the interests of privacy, security and the impact on the Internet industry. The Prime Minister himself said that it “is one of the most important Bills that this parliament will pass and it is vital that it is scrutinised and debated properly”, we now hope that Parliament is given sufficient time to properly scrutinise the Bill in order to get a Bill that is proportionate and workable.
Whilst we welcome the publication of further information alongside the revised Bill, including the associated draft codes of practice, the Home Office has pledged a number of changes to the Bill that will require close scrutiny. For example, as more work is undertaken to better understand Internet Connection Records, the powers have been extended, and there are still questions to be answered around the use of technical capability orders and definitions used in the Bill.
With the Bill and numerous supporting documents published today, ISPA will be holding a meeting with members to discuss the Bill in full.