Snoopers' Charter opponents attempt to get BT onside

Online activism group SumOfUs upped the stakes in its fight against the Snoopers' Charter on Tuesday afternoon, attempting to convince BT to join its fight as the controversial bill was read in the House.

Parliament was holding its second reading of Theresa May's updated Investigatory Powers Bill during the afternoon - a bill which, if passed, would dramatically increase the state's surveillance powers.

It would require telecommunications companies to stop encrypting private data at the state's request, mandate internet service providers to keep more detailed records on its users, and open up that data to the government.

Opponents have claimed such powers would be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

“[The bill] is a cynical power grab that would erode the fundamental privacy protections that are guaranteed to every citizen in the UK," said SumOfUs campaign manager Hanna Thomas.

"This bill puts our personal lives under direct threat and has dangerous implications for consumers, citizens and the future of privacy in the UK," she added.

Thomas said Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Microsoft and Vodafone had all expressed concerns about the bill.

“SumOfUs represents more than one million UK consumers who don’t want to be spied on by the government. We stand with experts and business leaders in demanding our MPs defeat this bill," she explained.

The group was now working to convince BT to join its cause.

It launched a petition on its website calling for the telecommunications giant, and owner of the local loop through Openreach, to publicly pressure the government alongside its industry peers.