UK's Investigatory Powers Bill to become law despite tech world opposition

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Role of Monarchy and Political Process

  • Several comments stress the King’s role is ceremonial; royal assent is effectively automatic and hasn’t been refused since 1708.
  • Blaming the monarch is seen as misplaced; responsibility lies with government and Parliament.
  • Some bring up historical oaths and royal influence, but others downplay any current real power.

Public Apathy, Activism, and Online Discourse

  • Many argue most people don’t care about surveillance and won’t protest or lobby.
  • Others counter that opposition must start somewhere, and online forums can help catalyze organized action, even if only occasionally.

Legal Context: UK, EU, and ECHR

  • Prior UK surveillance laws (RIPA 2000, IPA 2016) passed while the UK was in the EU.
  • EU courts and UK courts (applying EU law) have ruled parts of UK mass data collection incompatible with EU law.
  • The UK remains under the European Court of Human Rights, which has also criticized its surveillance, though governments often respond by rebranding or soft-ignoring rulings.
  • Some note UK politicians have discussed leaving the ECHR, which would remove an external check.

Effectiveness vs. Power Grab

  • Many see the bill as a power grab rather than effective security; past attackers were already “known to authorities.”
  • Concerns that more data plus institutional incompetence will harm innocents (e.g., referencing the Horizon scandal) without improving safety.

Privileges for Politicians (“Triple Lock”)

  • Strong backlash against the special “triple-lock” protection for surveillance of parliamentarians.
  • Seen as “one law for them, another for us” and evidence the law’s real risks are understood by its authors.

Tech Responses and Practical Privacy

  • Discussion of Tor and VPNs as countermeasures, with skepticism about Tor’s anonymity against capable nation-states and worries that VPN use itself may look suspicious.
  • Some route all home traffic through privacy-focused VPNs; others choose to “blend in” on the open internet.
  • A few say they won’t found tech companies in the UK or will reconsider employment rather than comply with surveillance obligations.

Media Coverage and Public Awareness

  • Several note minimal or low‑profile coverage by mainstream UK media, especially the BBC, despite some articles existing.
  • TV licensing and BBC funding are debated as an example of opaque, quasi-tax structures and state-media entanglement.

Broader Themes: Civil Liberties, Economics, Dystopia

  • Comments portray a global trend against end‑to‑end encryption and toward expansive surveillance across parties and countries.
  • Some frame surveillance as a tool to maintain existing economic hierarchies and distract the public via fear and culture wars.
  • Multiple references compare the current trajectory to cyberpunk or classic dystopian fiction, with the twist of “all the surveillance, none of the cool tech.”