By Jeff Bess As the debate over the appropriate extent of – and necessary limits to – government surveillance rages on in the United States, other nations are looking to expand their own powers to monitor the electronic communications of their citizenry. Chief among these is the United Kingdom, whose parliament is currently considering passage of the so-called “Investigatory Powers Bill,” which would authorize a whole host of new tactics for monitoring citizens’ Internet use and would also require compliance from the large Internet companies that possess troves of user data. The Investigatory Powers Bill is still in draft form and subject to much more parliamentary wrangling before it becomes law. UK Home Secretary Theresa May, who would be charged in part with overseeing the implementation of the bill, insists that the proposed legislation would not be used to ban encryption or survey the population en masse. Other UK government officials argue…
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