Just last week corporate billionaire President Trump signed the #muslimban, an executive order blocking entry to most refugees and those entering the US from from seven majority-Muslim countries. In the same week, he announced that torture “absolutely works” and that he supports waterboarding.
This same man now has unrivalled access to data collected by UK intelligence agencies. And thanks to the UK’s Investigatory Powers Act, the UK is collecting huge amounts of data about all our lives in Britain and around the world - in bulk.
The Investigatory Powers Act is a careless law, passed by MPs who didn’t consider future abuse. We can’t let Trump use our data to strip away basic liberties.
Can the government really continue listening in on our lives and put the data in Trump’s hands (the ones that Theresa May held during her visit to Washington) to use as he likes?
Don't let Trump get his hands on our data - Sign now!
Trump’s election is a disaster for the regulation of corporate power, climate change, women’s rights, human rights, and equality in the US and around the world.
Now more than ever, it is imperative that ordinary people like us take a stand for our rights. As we prepare to leave the EU and the protections of the European Court of Justice, we must enshrine our right to privacy as soon as possible within UK law. The EU’s highest court has already ruled that the ‘general and indiscriminate’ collection of our internet data is a breach of our fundamental rights, and exposes us to constant surveillance.
The Investigatory Powers Act (aka Snoopers' Charter) puts the capabilities revealed by Edward Snowden into the statute books and increases the state's surveillance powers. The act includes the collection of ‘bulk personal data sets’ -- databases of personal information including everything from the electoral register to our medical records to our supermarket loyalty schemes. Even worse, it also collects so-called ‘Internet Connection Records’ -- a record of every single website you have visited in the last 12 months.
That’s why SumOfUs members have been been fighting against it so hard. Tens of thousands of you have signed and shared petition to stop the Snoopers’ Charter and thousands of you got in touch with your MP to ensure the bill got a strong, independent review.
There’s also been an extraordinary response in the UK to Trump’s election -- 1.8m signed a petition asking Theresa May to deny him a state visit, forcing a debate in Parliament later this month. Tens of thousands turned out to protest his immigration order outside Downing St on Monday night.
With Trump’s election, the Snoopers’ Charter is more dangerous to us than ever. But we’re also more powerful than ever. Let’s act now.
Don't let Trump get his hands on our data - Sign now!
This petition was developed in partnership with Open Rights Group who campaign against mass surveillance in the UK: https://www.
More information
Guardian. 4 November 2015.
Independent. 12 July 2016.
Telegraph. 21 December 2016.
Guardian. 26 January 2017.
