Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill
5:30 pm
Viscount Goschen (Conservative)
My Lords, in Committee, we had an interesting, if somewhat confused, discussion about this issue. During the course of that, we were unable to reach a definitive view on the meaning of "general reception" or "general broadcast".
I welcome the initiative taken by my noble friend Lord Northesk. If the Minister does not like the definition which my noble friend proposes--I have no idea whether or not he does--it is incumbent on him to find something equally good, if not better.
The fact is, as we have said, the world of electronic communications is changing so quickly that the question of whether something is for general broadcast or general reception can easily be argued both ways. We need more clarity on this issue.