MASS SURVEILLANCE

That this House notes with great concern that surveillance by GCHQ of every British resident using Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has now been confirmed by the Director General of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism; further notes that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) has been interpreted as authorising mass surveillance of internet communications, content and metadata sent inside the UK; further notes that GCHQ justifies such conduct without a warrant on the basis that such data is external under RIPA when mediated by a computer server in the US; believes that this construction is flawed, contrary to evidence given to Committees of the House, contrary to written assurances provided during the passage of RIPA and contrary to the Interception of Communications Code of Practice; further believes that continuous mass surveillance of the social media of every UK citizen is not only incompatible with basic human rights and the Magna Carta but exposes the Government to an avalanche of privacy claims; and urgently calls on the Secretary of State for the Home Department to bring forward legislative proposals to end these practices.