Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union judgment on the Privacy International case (C-623/17), what steps he is taking to ensure that data collection by UK (a) law enforcement agencies and (b) national security and intelligence agencies complies with EU data protection standards.

The CJEU Judgement of 6 October 2020 relates to a previous power, Section 94 Directions under the Telecommunications Act 1984, that has since been replaced by provisions in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA). The IPA sets strict requirements of necessity and proportionality for the use of these powers, and provides significant safeguards and independent oversight. All warrants permitting the use of these powers are subject to the ‘double lock’ safeguard requiring that an independent Judicial Commissioner approve the Secretary of State’s decision before the warrant is issued. This ‘double lock’ ensures that the UK has one of the strongest oversight regimes anywhere in the world.

The Judgment will now be referred back to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal for interpretation for domestic law purposes.

The UK is committed to maintaining high data protection standards for personal data, and we will continue to be a global leader in ensuring personal data is properly protected.