Glyn sez, "UK Deputy PM Nick Clegg has commissioned a review into the new intrusive capabilities of British intelligence agencies and the legal framework in which they operate."
He warns: "It is not enough for the agencies to claim that they accurately interpret the correct balance between privacy and national security; they must be seen to do so, and that means strong, exacting third-party oversight."
The independent review, to be led by the intelligence and military thinktank the Royal United Services Institute, will look at the proportionality of the data gathered for surveillance purposes and the legal framework in which this happens.
The review, to be chaired by Rusi's director general, Michael Clarke, is in part modelled on the work commissioned in January by Obama from John Podesta, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, into big data and privacy. Clegg says the aim of the review, due to report after the general election, will be to bring the issue into the mainstream of public debate, noting the "quality of the debate in the US provides an unflattering contrast to the muted debate on this side of the Atlantic".
Nick Clegg orders review into data gathering by spy agencies [Patrick Wintour/The Guardian]
(Thanks, Glyn!)
