The privacy and security debate over digital intelligence continues, but little by little the fog of controversy that followed the publication of material leaked by Edward Snowden is being cleared away.

Last month, the Prime Minister received the report[1] from the Independent Surveillance Review commissioned under the last government by Nick Clegg, then Deputy Prime Minister. The review panel reached a unanimous set of conclusions, perhaps to the surprise of some, given how broadly based the review panel was. It included former heads of the three British intelligence agencies and a senior retired police officer as well as a leading investigative journalist, parliamentarians, a law professor and an internet entrepreneur. The report called for fresh legislation both to justify necessary intrusions into privacy by the state and to regulate such activity through clear law and effective oversight.

The title of the RUSI report conveys its message: a new democratic licence to operate is needed for the security and intelligence agencies and for law enforcement. A licence for intrusive investigation that could be said to be based on three Rs: rule of law, regulation and restraint. The rule of law would allow the authorities, when necessary, through open and clear legislation, to acquire the secret intelligence needed for national security and to keep the public safe. Regulation would provide a set of strict processes for authorization of such activity, only when necessary and proportionate, and to provide for effective independent oversight to supervise and investigate governmental intrusion. Restraint would ensure that it never becomes routine for the state to intrude into the private lives of its citizens. The hallmark of a civilized society must be that the state is reluctant to intrude, is restrained in the powers it chooses to use and properly authorized when it deems it necessary.