The government's arguments for justifying the mass monitoring of the
internet are "unconvincing" and based on exploiting "loopholes" in
legislation, the former chief surveillance inspector has said.
Sam Lincoln, who served for seven years as the head of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, said the revelations by Edward Snowden had damaged public confidence, and security establishment arguments were not being accepted by sections of the public.
In his first interview since standing down, Lincoln told the Guardian that such intrusive powers were necessary tools, but reforms were needed to the law and to the watchdogs overseeing surveillance systems. He said steps had to be taken to ensure public trust and that regulation could keep pace with new Big Brother technologies.
On Tuesday the government's top security official, Charles Farr, said searches on Google on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as supposedly private messages on social media among UK citizens can be monitored by the security services because they are legally judged to be "external communication
Read more: Government's defence of surveillance unconvincing, says ex-watchdog | World news | The Guardian
Sam Lincoln, who served for seven years as the head of the Office of Surveillance Commissioners, said the revelations by Edward Snowden had damaged public confidence, and security establishment arguments were not being accepted by sections of the public.
In his first interview since standing down, Lincoln told the Guardian that such intrusive powers were necessary tools, but reforms were needed to the law and to the watchdogs overseeing surveillance systems. He said steps had to be taken to ensure public trust and that regulation could keep pace with new Big Brother technologies.
On Tuesday the government's top security official, Charles Farr, said searches on Google on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube as well as supposedly private messages on social media among UK citizens can be monitored by the security services because they are legally judged to be "external communication
Read more: Government's defence of surveillance unconvincing, says ex-watchdog | World news | The Guardian
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