A bill, dubbed the 'Snooper's Charter', has been passed in the UK. The new laws mean that internet and mobile phone companies must now collect all users' browsing history and store the information for 12 months. Security services in the country will also now have powers to access the stored information, although each request to see any information will require a signature from police chiefs and a judge. The British home secretary, Amber Rudd, has called the passing of the new law “world-leading”. However, a petition calling for the bill to be repealed has already gained 150,000 signatures from protestors, who have called it “intrusive”. Rudd has defended the laws by saying that the system contains “unprecedented transparency and substantial privacy protection”.Â
