Government agrees law to protect confidential journalistic material from state hacking

The government has agreed to bring in legislation to require MI5 and GCHQ to seek independent authorisation before accessing confidential journalistic material obtained through the bulk hacking of phones or computer systems.

The Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Bill, which was debated in the House of Commons yesterday (Monday 19 February), will require the intelligence services to seek independent approval from the investigatory powers commissioner before accessing journalistic material or material that could identify a confidential journalistic source.

The concession follows a seven-year legal challenge brought by human rights organisation Liberty with the support of the National Union of Journalists (NJU).

It follows separate warnings from technology companies and rights organisations that proposed changes to the Investigatory Powers Act would disrupt the ability of technology companies to apply security updates and introduce end-to-end encryption.

The government has asked Liberty to drop legal proceedings against it in the light of a proposed amendment to the Investigatory Powers Bill 2016 that will require an independent body to review all requests to search and retain confidential journalistic information obtained through bulk hacking of computers, phones and tablets.

Journalists exposed to state surveillance and interference

Under current law, security and intelligence agencies and other state bodies can search for confidential journalist material, including emails, calls and texts, among data obtained through bulk hacking operations without the need for prior authorisation from a judicial commissioner.

The government introduced similar protections for journalistic material obtained through bulk interception in March 2023 following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of “Big Brother Watch and others v UK”,  which found that bulk interception of communications data breached the privacy rights of UK citizens.

Megan Goulding, a lawyer for Liberty, said journalists have been exposed to state surveillance and interference for more than a decade with few safeguards or protections.

“The introduction of a new requirement for an independent…