UK spy agencies are collecting citizens’ social media and medical data, a court has heard.

The details emerged in a case brought by Privacy International, looking at the legality of mass data collection.

Privacy International told the United Kingdom’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) on Tuesday that, for several years, bulk datasets containing a wealth of personal information, including social media data, have been shared with foreign governments, law enforcement agencies, and industry partners.

Most of the bulk personal datasets relate to UK citizens who are not of “legitimate intelligence interest”, the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) heard.

Also, it emerged that the body which oversees UK surveillance did not know that highly sensitive data was being shared.

However, Facebook said it did not provide any government with access to people’s data.

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