The Investigatory Powers Tribunal has ruled that the legality of mass surveillance in the UK should be decided by the European Court of Justice. The ECJ has already ruled that governments engaging in "general and indiscriminate retention" of data is illegal, and this led campaign group Privacy International to bring a case. The ruling means that only targeted interception of data and communication is permissible, something which the Investigatory Powers Act -- also known as the snooper's charter -- goes far beyond. The IPT conceded that some data collection is "essential to the protection of the national security of the…
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