Report of the Independent Surveillance Review
49
the problem of not being able to deny an untrue or incorrect story. Representatives from
The Guardian noted that conversations with GCHQ were, however, more constructive
than with US agencies.
3.12
The public’s reaction in the UK to the Snowden disclosures has been markedly different
than in the US (though there are some similarities). Representatives from The Guardian
told us it was difficult for them to start a political and legal debate in the UK because they
were marginalised by other media outlets as a result of the Leveson Inquiry into phonehacking and media ethics. In addition, there are significant differences between the
NSA and GCHQ, including the nature of their domestic operations, the legal frameworks
governing them, and thus the nature of the allegations made against them.
3.13
Reactions to the Snowden disclosures have been varied. Public opinion around the world
has reflected degrees of dismay or suspicion towards the revelations, particularly of
bulk data capture on such a scale.9 In the US and the UK, government and intelligencecommunity sources have consistently maintained that the revelations have damaged
national security: terror suspects have made efforts to re-route or conceal their
communications from US-based CSPs, terrorist websites offer advice on what can be
learnt from the disclosures, and police services report a degradation of their ability to
trace criminals.10
3.14
The disclosures accelerated a number of existing trends, such as the increased use of
sophisticated, end-to-end encryption techniques and declining co-operation from CSPs.
Intelligence officials and anonymous intelligence sources in the media have also said,
however, that the Snowden disclosures have had specific consequences for UK national
security. In particular:
•
•
9.
The police and GCHQ’s ability to track domestic and foreign criminal gangs –
including those relating to people trafficking and drugs – has been reduced11
A video released onto a jihadist platform outlined what they had learned from
the Snowden disclosures, providing advice on how to avoid detection and listing
software packages that protect against surveillance12
See Pew Research Center, ‘Global Opposition to U.S. Surveillance and Drones, but Limited
Harm to America’s Image’, Global Attitudes and Trends, 14 July 2014.
10. Richard Kerbaj, ‘Snowden’s Leaks Scupper Surveillance of Crime Gangs’, Sunday Times,
8 June 2014; Robert Verkaik, ‘Al Qaeda’s YouTube Guide for Jihadists: Security Chiefs
Spooked over Terror Video That Proves Extremists Are Using Leaks from US Spy Edward
Snowden to Evade Justice’, Daily Mail, 20 January 2015; Intelligence and Security
Committee, uncorrected transcript of evidence, John Sawers, Sir Iain Lobban and Andrew
Parker, 7 November 2013.
11. Sunday Times, ‘Snowden’s Leaks Scupper Surveillance of Crime Gangs’, 8 June 2014.
12. Daily Mail, ‘Al Qaeda’s YouTube Guide for Jihadists: Security Chiefs Spooked over Terror
Video that Proves Extremists are Using Leaks from US Spy Edward Snowden to Evade
Justice’, 20 January 2015.