article_snippet: GCHQ was last night cleared of carrying out mass surveillance of the public using vast trawls of internet traffic.
article_snippet: After an 18-month inquiry, Intelligence and Security Committee dismissed the claims that GCHQ had ‘blanket coverage’ of web communications and was rooting indiscriminately through private messages.
article_snippet: In reality, Intelligence and Security Committee said, GCHQ can access only a small part of the web and operatives see only a ‘tiny fraction’ of the messages collected after a sophisticated filtering process.
article_snippet: The allegation arising from the [Snowden] leaks is that GCHQ
article_snippet: It is clear that both for legal reasons and due to resource constraints, it is not: GCHQ cannot conduct indiscriminate blanket interception of all communications.
article_snippet: GCHQ cannot conduct indiscriminate blanket interception of all communications to do so, since it would not be necessary or proportionate, as required by [the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act]. Moreover, GCHQ do not have the capacity to do so and can only cover a fraction of internet communications' Britain's spy agencies have to get a warrant to monitor an individual's emails, phone calls and other communications.
highlights_snippet: Intelligence and Security Committee said UK spies were not breaking law .
  
highlights_snippet: GCHQ was not 'collecting or reading everyone's emails', Intelligence and Security Committee said .
  