UK bill would mean UK police could hack phones and browse Internet records

Authorities in the United Kingdom will be able to hack into phones and look through web browsing records, under a proposal put forward by the government. The government wants to increase surveillance powers of British authorities investigating crimes and fighting terrorism. A new version of The Investigatory Powers Bill, dubbed "Snooper's Charter" in the UK, was published March 1. The government was forced to rewrite an earlier draft of the bill because of lack of privacy safeguards.

The UK home secretary Theresa May said the new version provides stronger privacy protection, but critics remain deeply dissatisfied. "Rather than a full redraft, we've been given cosmetic tweaks to a heavily criticized, deeply intrusive bill," said Eric King, the director of privacy campaign Don't Spy on Us. The bill could force Internet service providers to store data for 12 months, so they could be accessed by police. It would also give legal backing to bulk collection of Internet traffic data. Authorities would also be able to order tech companies to remove any encryption tools they have applied.