Civil liberties groups took Britain's spy agencies to court Monday in
a bid to limit electronic surveillance, as the country’s government
tries to pass legislation to extend snooping powers.
A special court, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, is hearing a
challenge to mass online surveillance from groups including Liberty,
Amnesty International and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The organizations claim that mass collection of individuals’
communications data breaches the rights to private life and freedom of
expression.
“Not content with forcing service providers to keep details of our
calls and browsing histories, the government is fighting to retain the
right to trawl through our communications with anyone outside and many
inside the country,” said Liberty legal director James Welch. “When will
it learn that it is neither ethical nor efficient to turn everyone into
suspects?”http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/7/14/uk-surveillance-suit.html