Another UK council has been reportedly misusing anti-terrorism law to snoop on residents. This time, it’s Merton Council. According to a report in Your Local Guardian:
Anti-terror laws have been used by Merton Council to snoop on residents, for petty offences ranging from breaching smoking bans to fly-tipping, 39 times since 2006, the Wimbledon Guardian can reveal.
The revelation has sparked criticism from civil liberty groups, but the council insists the controversial use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), dubbed the “snoopers charter”, has been sparing, and is being reviewed.
Read more in Your Local Guardian.