This event is jointly hosted with INDEX ON CENSORSHIP.

This event will gather campaigners and activists to explore and explain the Bill in detail, with headline speaker Cory Doctorow. Civil Liberties groups will be working together to plan joint campaign actions, including a mass lobbying of MPs when the bill is published.

The “Snoopers’ Charter” - aka the Communications Data Bill - was announced in the Queen's speech in May. The Bill proposes new powers that would allow the Government to order the collection of a lot more information about who people communicate with online. Information about our use of services like Google or Facebook would be collected and accessible too easily to those working for law enforcement.

The Bill as it stands will lead to too much information being collected about too many people. Access to that information will be too easy. This will result in accidental or deliberate misuse of the data leading to significant privacy harms.

The Snooper's Charter is being looked at by a committee of MPs and Lords right now. We have been telling them that we want to see the powers to collect and access communications data tightened up, not extended ever further.