Liberty gets go-ahead to challenge Snoopers’ Charter in the High Court

The High Court has granted Liberty permission to challenge part of the Government’s extreme mass surveillance regime with a judicial review of the Investigatory Powers Act.

Liberty is challenging the mass collection of everybody’s communications data and internet history, which it believes breaches British people’s rights.

The Act forces communications companies and service providers to retain and hand over logs of everybody’s emails, phone calls, texts and entire web browsing history to state agencies to store, data-mine and profile at will.

In December, the European Court of Justice issued a historic judgment in a separate case brought by Tom Watson MP, represented by Liberty lawyers.

It ruled the same powers in the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) – the previous law governing UK state surveillance – were unlawful.

Now permission has been granted, Liberty’s application for a costs capping order will be considered. If granted, the case will be listed for a full hearing in due course.

The challenge is being crowdfunded via CrowdJustice, and has received widespread public support. In January, Liberty raised more than £50,000 from the public in less than a week – smashing its initial target of just £10,000.

More than 200,000 people signed a petition calling for the repeal of the Investigatory Powers Act after it became law late last year.

It passed through Parliament in an atmosphere of shambolic political opposition – even though the Government failed to provide evidence that surveillance of everybody in the UK was lawful or necessary, and despite warnings from whistleblowers and experts that the powers would make it more difficult for security services to do their jobs effectively.

Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, said: “We’re delighted to have been granted permission to challenge this authoritarian surveillance regime.

“It’s become clearer than ever in recent months that this law is not fit for purpose. The Government doesn’t need to spy on the entire population to fight terrorism. All that does is undermine the very rights, freedoms and democracy terrorists seek to destroy.

“And as increasingly frequent hacking attacks bring businesses and public bodies to their knees, our Government’s obsession with storing vast amounts of sensitive information about every single one of us looks dangerously irresponsible.

“If they truly want to keep us safe and protect our cybersecurity, they urgently need to face up to reality and focus on closely monitoring those who pose a serious threat.”

The High Court has also allowed Liberty to seek permission to challenge three other parts of the Act once the Government publishes further codes of practice, or by March 2018 at the latest. These cover:

Liberty has instructed Shamik Dutta at Bhatt Murphy Solicitors, Ben Jaffey QC, Martin Chamberlain QC and David Heaton in this case.

Contact 0207 378 3656 / 07973 831 128 / pressoffice@liberty-human-rights.org.uk