Rights coalition Don’t Spy On Us to publish satirical photos of leaders of oppressive regimes to fight investigatory powers bill

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Privacy campaigners are using a poster of Kim Jong-un to alert the UK public to a controversial surveillance bill going through parliament.

The provocative poster of the North Korean leader is overlaid with the words “A surveillance camera in our phones? Way to go Britain.” Other posters in the campaign satirise the Russian, Chinese and Zimbawe presidents – Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Robert Mugabe respectively.

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The investigatory powers bill authorises a series of snooping powers for the intelligence services and police. Its passage through parliament has so far been relatively trouble-free, with Labour and the Scottish National party abstaining from a vote despite concerns about an invasion of privacy.

The posters have been created by a coalition of rights groups, called Don’t Spy On Us, and, though satirical, are aimed at making a serious point about the erosion of civil liberties.

Eric King, the director of Don’t Spy On Us, said: “The UK government should be leading the way in guaranteeing safe and secure communications for everyone. Instead it is providing examples for dictators across the world.

“When China introduced controversial sweeping surveillance powers just a few months ago, its government claimed it was doing ‘basically the same as what other major countries in the world do’. Oppressive regimes are already following our lead.”

The words overlaying Putin’s face read: “A government that spies on citizens. What’s not to like?” Xi’s reads: “Well done, Britain. No one monitors their people quite like you.” The posters are being placed in newspapers including the Guardian, and on billboards.

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In what is believed to be the first such legal challenge to the authority of the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT), the campaign group Privacy International has launched a judicial review of the IPT’s judgment this year that found “thematic warrants” authorising hacking by GCHQ were legal.

There is no right of appeal within the UK against IPT rulings, although the investigatory powers bill plans to introduce such a procedure. The IPT hears complaints about abuse of surveillance powers by government agencies.

Scarlet Kim, legal officer at Privacy International, said: “The IPT’s decision grants the government carte blanche to hack hundreds or thousands of people’s computers and phones with a single warrant.

“General warrants permit GCHQ to target an entire class of persons or property without proving to a judge that each person affected is suspected of a crime or a threat to national security. By sanctioning this power, the IPT has upended 250 years of common law that makes clear such warrants are unlawful.

“Combined with the power to hack, these warrants represent an extraordinary expansion of state surveillance capabilities with alarming consequences for the security of our devices and the internet.”

Privacy International’s challenge will be heard in the high court if judges consider they have the jurisdiction to hear it.