Via The Register: “The UK government slipped out consultation documents on “equipment interference” and “interception of communications” (read: computer hacking by police and g-men) on Friday. They were made public on the same day that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled that the spying revelations exposed by master blabbermouth Edward Snowden had accidentally made British spooks’ data-sharing love-in with the NSA legal. The Home Office said it was seeking responses from Brits on its revised and updated draft Interception of Communications Code of Practice (PDF) and a newly-proposed equipment interference code (PDF). “The purpose of the codes is to make publicly available more information about the robust safeguards that apply to the police and the security and intelligence agencies in their use of investigatory powers,” said Secretary of State Theresa May’s department.”