Hundreds of
UK lawyers have signed an open letter addressed to the UK government that
declares the Investigatory Powers Bill as "not fit for purpose".
The 200
lawyers who signed the cases have a fraction of high-profile QCs involved in
cases where evidence of the new powers' inefficiency has been present.
According
to the letter "a law that gives public authorities generalised access to
electronic communication compromises the essence of the fundamental right to
privacy and may be illegal."
According
to the letter, it fails to include verification of "reasonable
suspicion" for an instance of data interception and does not need a
demonstration or evidence of criminal involvement or a threat to national
security for the use of powers.
Meanwhile,
the Conservative government has pushed the IP Bill as having passed their
expectations. They said it has an 'adequate balance between privacy and
security."
The Labour
party said it will abstain from the second reading. The party also threatened
to vote against the bill if significant changes are not made. The Liberal
Democrats and Scottish National Party are heavily opposed to the bill.
Tech
companies have warned that the IP bill could compromise existing communication
technologies because of the use of a backdoor. The new bill also threatened
tech companies of arrest or suspension if they will not comply with a
hack-on-demand.
