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19 Jun, 2014

Mass surveillance of UK citizens on social media is legal, says UK official – The Independent

The mass interception and surveillance of UK citizens’ activity on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google is legal, the government’s top anti-terror chief has said.

In the first detailed defence of the UK’s surveillance policies since the Snowden revelations, Charles Farr, the director general of the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, has said that the surveillance of such popular sites is legal because their US origins means they count as “external communications”.

In a 48-page statement issued in response to a legal challenge brought by Privacy International, Liberty, Amnesty international and seven other civil liberties groups, Farr admits that the government allows the interception of a massive range of online activities without a warrant.

Read the rest: Mass surveillance of UK citizens on Facebook, YouTube and Google is legal, says official – Gadgets and Tech – Life & Style – The Independent.