{"id":693292,"date":"2022-06-09T13:22:55","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T13:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1600730"},"modified":"2022-06-09T13:22:55","modified_gmt":"2022-06-09T13:22:55","slug":"priti-patels-latest-bill-declares-war-on-journalists-publishers-and-whistleblowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/06\/09\/priti-patels-latest-bill-declares-war-on-journalists-publishers-and-whistleblowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Priti Patel\u2019s latest bill declares war on journalists, publishers and whistleblowers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The National Security Bill, introduced<\/a> by home secretary Priti Patel and formerly<\/a> known as the Counter State Threats Bill, aims to update existing espionage laws. The bill has been several years in the making, and is currently going<\/a> through the committee stage in Parliament. It’s based partly on recommendations in a 2020 Law Commission report titled ‘Protection of Official Data<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

If enacted, the bill could see<\/a> whistleblowers, journalists, and publishers jailed for life.<\/p>\n

Complex and flawed bill
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The bill says that if a person is convicted<\/a> of obtaining, copying, recording or retaining “protected information”, or “discloses or provides access to protected information” that is “prejudicial to the safety or interests” of the UK, they could face life imprisonment.<\/p>\n

There is a clause in the legislation stating that a foreign power needs to benefit from the action. However, the wording is ambiguous and open to interpretation. While it states that a person<\/a> must have the \u201cintent\u201d to carry out the action to benefit a foreign power, it also states that the \u201cperson must know or reasonably ought to know that the conduct has that relationship to a foreign power\u201d.<\/p>\n

The clause also states that it\u2019s not necessary to identify the foreign power that benefits for prosecution.<\/p>\n

In other words, if a classified document is published by, say, a blogger on the internet for all to see, and that document – in part or whole – assists an unspecified foreign power, it is possible that they could be arrested for this offence. It’s unclear whether anyone who links to that document can also be prosecuted.<\/p>\n

The bill further adds that such an offence applies “whether the person\u2019s conduct takes place in the United Kingdom or elsewhere”. So should that blogger leak something that’s then published by, say, the New York Times<\/em>, all parties involved could be subject to prosecution in the UK courts. That’s despite the enormous practical challenges involved.<\/p>\n

Early warnings
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There were warnings about the proposed legislation as far back as 2017.<\/p>\n

In that year, the Law Commission published a consultation paper<\/a> on the proposed legislative changes. Open Rights Group (ORG) responded by arguing<\/a> that the rationale behind the proposed legislative changes was the publication of leaked documents<\/a> by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden<\/a> and other documents by WikiLeaks<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Investigative journalist Duncan Campbell<\/a>\u00a0wrote<\/a> in the Register<\/em>:<\/p>\n

If the proposed law had been in force in 2013, the Cabinet Office could have thrown [Guardian editor Alan] Rusbridger in prison simply for handling copies of documents Edward Snowden passed to his reporters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Campbell also noted<\/a> that:<\/p>\n

Sentences would apply even if \u2013 like Edward Snowden or Chelsea Manning<\/a> \u2013 the leaker was not British, or in Britain, or was intent on acting in the public interest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, a July 2021 tweet from veteran BBC<\/em> journalist John Simpson argued that the new legislation would reclassify journalists as spies:<\/p>\n

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Priti Patel\u2019s Home Office wants to make it a crime for journalists to embarrass the govt by publishing leaked official documents. The maximum penalty would be 14 years in prison. This would put British journalists on a par with foreign spies.<\/p>\n

— John Simpson (@JohnSimpsonNews) July 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n