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Fact check

Is it true: TEMPORA / GCHQ 'Mastering the Internet' fiber-tap (revealed Jun 21 2013)?

Confirmed5% confidence

Yes — this is confirmed.

TEMPORA is confirmed by NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden, published by The Guardian on June 21 2013. The program tapped 200+ transatlantic fiber cables from GCHQ's Bude facility, buffering up to 21 petabytes/day. Related programs INCENSER, MUSCULAR, and CARBOY shared data with the NSA. The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 codified the UK's bulk collection powers. The ECtHR ruled in Big Brother Watch v UK (2021) that aspects of the regime violated ECHR Article 8.

The claim

On 21 June 2013, The Guardian published reporting by Ewen MacAskill, Julian Borger, and Nick Hopkins revealing TEMPORA — a GCHQ program operating from the Bude facility in Cornwall that tapped more th

Key evidence

NSA documents disclosed TEMPORA fiber-tap at Bude — Guardian June 21 2013

IPA 2016 reforms — oversight improvements following ECtHR ruling

Read the full evidence file

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