(a) ability to perform complex analysis: “While the security and intelligence
agencies can also make individual communications data requests to
communication service providers, the ability to access data in bulk is critical,
because it enables the security and intelligence agencies to conduct
searches, where necessary and proportionate, across all the relevant data, in
a secure way. This enables more complex analysis to be undertaken,
particularly when the results are matched against other data holdings – for
example, that held in bulk personal datasets”;214
(b) greater speed: “By using bulk communications data, links can be
established that would be impossible or significantly slower (potentially taking
many days) to discover through a series of individual requests to
communication service providers. This can sometimes be the difference
between identifying and disrupting a plot, and an attack taking place”; and
(c) lesser intrusiveness: “Without access to bulk communications data, the
security and intelligence agencies would be much less able to concentrate
their efforts on those who pose the greatest threat, and without the benefit of
this insight there would be a significantly greater risk of intruding into the lives
of innocent individuals during the course of investigations as the security and
intelligence agencies work to narrow down possible suspects.”
6.4.
MI5’s statement of utility (Annex 5) identifies the utility of communications data
acquired under the bulk acquisition power, and/or BPD, for identifying (and ruling
out) links to known targets and activities of interest, for understanding target
behaviour, target communications, travel patterns and links between plotters, for
identifying new communications devices that may be subject to further targeted
enquiries, for keeping human sources safe and for enabling MI5 and the police to
take disruptive action and stop attacks, e.g. by alerting them to changes in
behaviour that might indicate the imminence of a terrorist attack. MI5 told the
review team that it relied upon bulk acquisition data in its counter-terrorism
operations in particular, but also used it in other areas of its work.
6.5.
214
GCHQ in its own statement of utility (Annex 7) describes the bulk acquisition
power as “the primary way in which GCHQ discovers new threats to the UK”,
together with communications data obtained through bulk interception. The use
of the bulk acquisition power by its geo-political teams “allow it to minimise
intrusion into privacy when seeking to identify new leads” and can provide
assurance that “an account targeted for more intrusive content collection does
not belong to a UK individual”.
Cf. Report of the IOCC, July 2016, para 8.29.
93