February 28, 2016

Consumer Group Calls on BT to Speak Out Against Snoopers' Charter; Says Bill is A Dangerous Threat to Privacy

SumOfUs Urges BT to Condemn the Investigatory Powers Bill

More than 69,000 SumOfUs members in the UK are calling on British Telecommunications plc (BT) to go on the record against the newly released Investigatory Powers Bill, also known as the Snoopers' Charter. =20

VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://action.sumofus.org/a/bt-snoopers-charter

The Investigatory Powers Bill has been roundly condemned as a dangerous and unprecedented violation of on consumer trust by tech and telecommunication giants like Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Vodafone, EE, and O2.

The proposed legislation would dramatically increase the State's surveillance powers by requiring telecommunication companies to stop encrypting private user data, require internet service providers to keep detailed records on users, and open up user data to government officials in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

With our private lives at risk - now is the time for BT to step up, join other leaders in the telecommunications space and condemn Home Secretary May's Investigatory Powers Bill as a cynical power grab that erodes fundamental privacy protections guaranteed to every UK citizen," explained Hanna Thomas, Campaign Manager for SumOfUs.org, an international consumer watchdog. "Not only would the proposed Snoopers' Charter open up our private data for government review, this dramatic increase in the State's surveillance powers would shatter standard encryption protections that keep our data safe and make private communications more vulnerable to hacks and leaks."

"In the 1980s, BT was routinely pressurised by the British government to spy on entirely lawful citizens such as trade union and political activists. As one of the UK's biggest telecommunications provider, now is the time for BT to stand with its customers and against this bill," added Thomas.