Privacy security

MI5 wrongly told staff it was exempt from privacy safeguards

MI5 wrongly claimed it had been granted a unique exemption, by former home secretary Theresa May, from applying privacy safeguards to access databases containing data on the public’s private phone, email and web browsing activities.

Secret documents released during a court hearing at the end of July 2016 show that the security service misleadingly claimed to its own staff that it was “uniquely exempt” from seeking independent approval for accessing private communications data (CD).  

The documents came to light at a hearing at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), brought by the charity Privacy International to challenge the legality and lack of safeguards over intelligence services’ use of bulk personal datasets.

Bulk personal datasets held by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ contain highly sensitive information about the population, including location and travel history, internet and mobile phone use, and financial information.