The issue focused on Johnstone and her computer technology company software business.

On March 9, 2014, the Internet Watch Foundation — a digital rights group that monitors internet surveillance — received an anonymous tip from someone who had seen an article in The Guardian about GCHQ's electronic spying program. The Internet Watch Foundation sent the article to GCHQ for comment. A month later, on April 8, GCHQ responded with a response letter to Internet Watch Foundation. In it, it claimed that "the systems used by Internet