IP Bill: Home Office wins vote on Investigatory Powers Bill, which government claims will help fight terrorism but businesses warn will risk customers’ security
Government has won a vote in House of Commons to pass the controversial Investigatory Powers Bill this evening.
The bill, which will give police and security forces greater powers to access communications data, was passed after a lengthy debate.
Government has contended that the new legislation, which is being lead by home secretary Theresa May and the Home Office department, will strengthen powers to investigate crime and terrorism.
However, a number of businesses have previously fought back, saying such rules would weaken security for customers. In particular, Vodafone slammed the bill for being a "major imposition on the freedom of an operator".
Other companies to sound similar warnings include Facebook, Google and Twitter.
The legal profession has also recently said it is unimpressed by the latest version of the bill, with the Bar Council in particular warning that the newest version of the wording did not go far enough to protect legal privilege.
Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrat party, tweeted his disappointment soon after the decision was made:
The @LibDems are the only effective opposition to the #IPBill – @Labour and @TheSNP both have flip-flopped and ended up sitting on the fence
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) March 15, 2016
An earlier iteration of the so-called Snoopers' Charter was blocked by the Liberal Democrats when the party was in the coalition government.