Privacy watchdog attacks snooper's charter over encryption

Information commissioner warns encryption 'is vital' for personal security, and attempts to weaken it should not be in new investigatory powers bill

The information commissioner's office has heavily criticised the draft Investigatory Powers bill for attacking individuals' privacy, particularly in relation to the apparent requirement on communication providers to weaken or break their data encryption at the government's request.

The privacy watchdog also told the parliamentary committee responsible for scrutinising the bill that "little justification" was given for one of the most controversial aspects of the proposed legislation: a new requirement on communications providers to store comms data for 12 months.