Labour activists in Camborne, Redruth & Hayle have this week passed a CLP motion in response to the government's invasive Investigatory Powers Bill. The bill, passed in November of last year, forces internet and communications companies to collect and store everyone’s personal communications data, such as information about who we email, which websites we visit, and where we are when we send messages. It also allows the government to hack into our phones and computers, and could be used to force companies providing secure messaging, such as Whatsapp, to remove encryptions designed to protect our privacy.

Members were rightly concerned that the wide reaching legislation gives surveillance powers to too many government agencies and that these should be reserved for the most serious cases where there is already a reasonable level of suspicion. Activists resolved that the Labour Party should work to ensure the right balance between privacy and security and take forward plans for a Charter of Digital Rights that protects both.