Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015

Long title An Act to make provision in relation to terrorism; to make provision about retention of communications data, about information, authority to carry and security in relation to air, sea and rail transport and about reviews by the Special Immigration Appeals Commission against refusals to issue certificates of naturalisation; and for connected purposes.
Citation 6
Dates
Royal assent 12 February, 2015
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
Revised text of statute as amended

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into force in July 2015

Drafting

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill was proposed by Home Secretary Theresa May in November 2014. The press reported it would require Internet service providers to retain data showing which IP address was allocated to a device at a given time.[1] At that time, companies providing internet services were not required to keep records of extra data that can show which individuals have used a particular IP address at a given time, even though this information exists.[2]

Justification

The Home Secretary said the new bill would help security services "deal with the increased threat that we now see". She said "This is a step but it doesn't go all the way to ensuring that we can identify all the people we will need to". To "fully identify" everybody, she said police would need the power to access communication data, as previously proposed in the Draft Communications Data Bill.[1]

Effects

In December 2015, under a remit of the act which places local authorities, prisons, NHS trusts and schools under a statutory duty to prevent extremist radicalisation taking place within their walls, teachers reported a 10 year old boy to the police after he had misspelled the word "terraced" and written "I live in a terrorist house". He was subsequently interviewed by police and social services and had his home searched.[3] In a similar case, reported in March 2016, a four year old was reported by nursery staff to police and a social services panel after he had drawn a picture of a cucumber and mispronounced it as "cooker bomb" when asked what it was.[4]

In February 2016, Ken Macdonald warned that the "prevent" aspect of the law risked a "chilling effect" on academic debate and a "deadening impact" on research at universities.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Internet data plan back on political agenda". BBC. 23 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Theresa May announces new powers to tackle internet jihadists". The Telegraph. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  3. ↑ Bonnie Malkin, "I live in a 'terrorist house': police speak to Muslim boy, 10, over spelling error", The Guardian, 20 January 2016
  4. ↑ David Barrett, "Four-year-old who 'mispronounced the word cucumber' threatened with counter-terrorism measures", The Telegraph, 12 March 2016, [http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/four-year-old-who-mispronounced-the-word-cucumber-threatened-with-counter-terrorism-measures
  5. ↑ Adams, Richard (7 February 2016). "Anti-terror laws risk 'chilling effect' on academic debate – Oxford college head". theguardian.com. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
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