BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
Is necessary for facilitating the carrying out of any functions of the
Interception of Communications Commissioner or the Tribunal;
Is necessary to ensure that a person conducting a criminal prosecution has
the information needed to determine what is required of him or her by his
or her duty to secure the fairness of the prosecution; or
Is necessary for the performance of any duty imposed by the Public Record
Acts.
Dissemination of intercepted material
7.3. The number of persons to whom any of the intercepted material is disclosed,
and the extent of disclosure, is limited to the minimum that is necessary for the
authorised purposes set out in section 15(4) of RIPA. This obligation applies equally
to disclosure to additional persons within an agency, and to disclosure outside the
agency. It is enforced by prohibiting disclosure to persons who have not been
appropriately vetted and also by the need-to-know principle: intercepted material must
not be disclosed to any person unless that person’s duties, which must relate to one of
the authorised purposes, are such that he or she needs to know about the intercepted
material to carry out those duties. In the same way, only so much of the intercepted
material may be disclosed as the recipient needs. For example, if a summary of the
intercepted material will suffice, no more than that should be disclosed.
7.4. The obligations apply not just to the original interceptor, but also to anyone to
whom the intercepted material is subsequently disclosed. In some cases this will be
achieved by requiring the latter to obtain the originator’s permission before disclosing
the intercepted material further. In others, explicit safeguards are applied to secondary
recipients.
7.5. Where intercepted material is disclosed to the authorities of a country or
territory outside the UK, the agency must take reasonable steps to ensure that the
authorities in question have and will maintain the necessary procedures to safeguard
the intercepted material, and to ensure that it is disclosed, copied, distributed and
retained only to the minimum extent necessary. In particular, the intercepted material
must not be further disclosed to the authorities of a third country or territory unless
explicitly agreed with the issuing agency, and must be returned to the issuing agency
or securely destroyed when no longer needed.
Copying
7.6. Intercepted material may only be copied to the extent necessary for the
authorised purposes set out in section 15(4) of RIPA. Copies include not only direct
copies of the whole of the intercepted material, but also extracts and summaries which
identify themselves as the product of an interception, and any record referring to an
interception which includes the identities of the persons to or by whom the intercepted
material was sent. The restrictions are implemented by requiring special treatment of
such copies, extracts and summaries that are made by recording their making,
distribution and destruction.
Storage
7.7. Intercepted material and all copies, extracts and summaries of it, must be
handled and stored securely, so as to minimise the risk of loss or theft. It must be held
so as to be inaccessible to persons without the required level of vetting. This
requirement to store intercept product securely applies to all those who are responsible
for handling it, including CSPs. The details of what such a requirement will mean in
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