How GCHQ was called in to keep Harry Potter under wraps

telegraph.co.uk

3 pointsinfodroid3 comments

Is this a joke? This is how the surveillance state starts benefiting the few for very arbitrary, non-national security reasons.

This should be regarded as an absolute disgrace in the UK and the head of GCHQ should be asked to resign. I think the GCHQ has a few other more important (or deadly) things to worry about, no? At least that's what they keep telling people when they ask for bigger budgets.

The headline overstates the story as written in the body - GCHQ called the publisher when they happened across a purported leaked draft online. That doesn't seem out of order; they weren't looking at secured information, and weren't tasked to protect the IP.

I don't know how they justify it. I can only assume this sort of activity falls under protecting "the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom in relation to the actions or intentions of persons outside the British Islands" from the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

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