The Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has ruled in favor of the charity Privacy International and the human rights group Liberty, in the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the two organizations against MI5 for alleged mass surveillance practices.
The IPT is an independent body which investigates complaints against the UK security services.
This specific case concerned MI5’s compliance with legal protections for personal data, under the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000 and the Investigative Powers Act 2016 – often referred to as the Snooper’s Charter by privacy activists.
The laws give state agencies, such as MI5, the legal authority to acquire and retain individuals’ personal information. However, they also set strict guidelines on how this data should be processed and stored.
The IPT has now ruled that MI5 unlawfully retained significant volumes of data from late 2014 to early 2019 because, contrary to law, at least one of the agency’s technology systems lacked sufficient retention, review and deletion (RRD).
“The holding and processing of data in these circumstances was unlawful on the ground that, under the relevant provisions of RIPA and IPA, satisfactory DRR safeguards were not in place,” the court said. .
The judges added that, despite repeated warnings, the Home Office had failed to conduct sufficient investigations into these safeguard issues, leaving successive Home Secretaries in limbo as to whether the warrants surveillance systems they had approved offered effective protections.
The IPT said there had been “widespread corporate bankruptcy” and that it would not be appropriate to blame specific MI5 or Home Office employees for the breach of the law.
The court dismissed a broader challenge to the effectiveness of protections under RIPA or IPT. He also refused to cancel any orders that may have been issued inappropriately or to ask MI5 to delete any data held illegally. He said it would be “very detrimental to national security”.
While praising the court ruling, Liberty and Private International said the verdict did not go far enough to stop widespread surveillance and preserve the right to privacy.
“British intelligence agencies are seriously intruding on the privacy of thousands, if not millions, of people, we call them, and then the government promises better safeguards. Today’s decision is particularly troubling as it confirms that these warranties can be illusory,” said Caroline Wilson Palow, Chief Legal Officer. at Privacy International.
“MI5 failed to track them for years, with successive Home Secretaries also ignoring signs of their violation.
“These are not technical breaches. At its highest levels, MI5 has systematically ignored the law and the Home Office’s failure to do anything has given its activities a green light. Nothing good comes from the unchecked power wielded by government intelligence agencies operating in the shadows. It is undemocratic and dangerous to our rights to give MI5 a free pass.”