The UK's latest surveillance laws, which include things like mandating the retention of all web browsing history for up to a year, aren't justified, says the EU. This form of "general and indiscriminate" collection of data by the government can only be allowed when directly fighting serious crime. That decision came from the European Court of Justice.
Only the objective of fighting serious crime is capable of justifying such interference...[the legislation] exceeds the limits of what is strictly necessary and cannot be considered to be justified within a democratic society.- Court
An appeal will be filed by the UK government. If that fails, the ruling still doesn't have a guaranteed impact, especially given the country is leaving the EU. The UK Home Office called this decision a "disappointment."
A leader with the Labour party, Tom Watson, helped bring the case to the EU. He is happy with the decision and the message it sends.
Most of us can accept that our privacy may occasionally be compromised in the interests of keeping us safe, but no one would consent to giving the police or the government the power to arbitrarily seize our phone records or emails to use as they see fit. It's for judges, not ministers, to oversee these powers.- Watson
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