Home Secretary Theresa May has refused to answer whether Britain's security services are accessing medical records and other sensitive data. She was defending the Snooper's Charter to the draft Investigatory Powers Bill, and told the committee she would not "go down the route of giving information about the sort of data sets that are being acquired", according to the BBC. Her comments come after it was revealed last year that GCHQ is downloading large amounts of personal data, which could include everything from the electoral register, to supermarket loyalty schemes or bank records. This data would then be analysed to "join the dots" and draw conclusions about individuals, and such use of information is covered by old legislation. But May said new safeguards would cover such powers - one was limited six-month warrants that give access to data and another was judicial oversight of such requests. The controversial bill has been attacked by major technology companies, ISPs and campaign groups. Central to the controversy is the mass collection and storage of sensitive data, which the bill in its current form says could be held for up to 12 months. May said security minister, John Hayes, had written to the committee of MPs and peers to ask why the government did not want to reveal the kinds of data that investigators would access.

May, however, maintained that the practice of siphoning large amounts of web data does not amount to "mass surveillance". "The UK does not undertake mass surveillance," she said. 13/01/16: Information Commissioner attacks Snooper's Charter The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has attacked the Investigatory Powers Bill, AKA the Snooper's Charter, saying downgrading encryption could be dangerous for personal security. Not only can the information be used maliciously by hackers if it falls into the wrong hands, but it could also be used as a weapon by nation states. "The information commissioner has stressed the importance of encryption to guard against the compromise of personal information," the ICO said. "Weakening encryption can have significant consequences for individuals. The constant stream of security breaches only serves to highlight how important encryption is towards safeguarding personal information. Weakened encryption safeguards could be exploited by hackers and nation states intent on harming the UK's interests." The privacy watchdog expressed its concerns to the parliamentary committee responsible for investigating the impact of the bill, saying there was also little justification for asking communications providers to store data for up to 12 months. 11/01/16: Anonymous browser developer Tor has condemned the Snooper's Charter, saying it will "significantly harm" people's safety. "The draft bill should not centre on the false tradeoff between civil liberty and security. While it is undoubtedly not the intention of the Home Office, this draft bill will significantly harm the safety of human rights activists," The Tor Project wrote in its written evidence presented to the government. The group said the Investigatory Powers Bill storing the metadata the lw requires companies to store about people for up to 12 months could reveal sensitive information about people who are using its privacy browser and others who are purposefully protecting their identities, meaning their lives could potentially be in danger.