Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner - March 2015
3.5
My office has also attended and / or taken part in various events, roundtables and
panel discussions including: the International Intelligence Review Agencies Conference
(IIRAC); a Workshop on the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014; the
Parliament and Internet Conference; the Bingham School of Law Investigatory Powers
Review event; and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Guardian event ‘Journalism
in the age of mass surveillance: Safeguarding journalists and their sources’. At the IIRAC
conference we had the opportunity to meet a number of our international counterparts
and we have since hosted a number of them to discuss in further detail our respective
oversight regimes.
3.6
My office has engaged with various think tanks and civil society organisations
to discuss key issues and concerns. Throughout the year we have also given evidence
to various committees including the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) and the
Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC).
3.7
Throughout the year we have published various documents on our website (www.
iocco-uk.info) providing further information about the work we are undertaking. We
have issued press statements regarding matters under investigation and published the
findings of inquiries we have undertaken. In July 2014 we created our Twitter account
@iocco_oversight. This has improved our communication, helped us to distribute
news, engage with and answer questions from the public and given us access to a wealth
of opinion and debate about our work. It helps us to keep up to date with relevant news
and is also a valuable tool for following discussions and gleaning new information from
academics, researchers, lawyers, civil society, think tanks, computer scientists, network
engineers and other key individuals working in relevant fields.
3.8
I hope that this work has demonstrated our commitment to understanding the
key issues and provided the public with more information about our oversight.
3.9
In my view there is more the intelligence agencies, police forces and law
enforcement could do, and should do, to better inform the public about how they use
their powers under RIPA 2000, why they need these intrusive powers and, why additional
powers might be required.
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@iocco_oversight