6.47.
I have concluded that:
(a) Bulk acquisition has been demonstrated to be crucial in a variety of fields,
including counter-terrorism, counter-espionage and counter-proliferation.
The case studies provide examples in which bulk acquisition has
contributed significantly to the disruption of terrorist operations and,
though that disruption, almost certainly the saving of lives.
(b) Bulk acquisition is valuable as a basis for action in the face of imminent
threat,227 though its principal utility lies in swift target identification and
development.
(c) The SIAs’ ability to interrogate the aggregated data obtained through bulk
acquisition cannot, at least with currently available technology, be
matched through the use of data obtained by targeted means.
(d) Even where alternatives might be available, they are frequently more
intrusive than the use of bulk acquisition.
227
6.48.
Those conclusions are consistent with the (albeit limited) opinions expressed or
implied by the IOCC and the IsComm (3.12-3.13 and 3.21 above).
6.49.
Once again, it should not be assumed that these conclusions will be the same for
the foreseeable future. If (for example) filtering arrangements were to be
developed which allows multiple databases effectively to be interrogated in the
same way as a single database (6.26-6.28 above), the equation could change.
See A9/25 (Northern Ireland dissident republican threat).
102