2013 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
Section 4
Communications Data
4.1
In this section I shall provide an outline of the communications data legislation,
give details in relation to our communications data inspection regime and summarise the
key findings from our inspections.
4.2
RIPA 2000 Part I Chapter II (sections 21 to 25) concerns the acquisition and
disclosure of communications data. Communications data colloquially embrace the ‘who’,
‘when’ and ‘where’ of a communication but not the content, what was said or written. Put
shortly, communications data comprise of the following.
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Traffic data which is data that may be attached to a communication for the
purpose of transmitting it and could appear to identify the sender and recipient
of the communication, the location from which and the time at which it was
sent, and other related material (see sections 21(4)(a) and 21(6) and (7) RIPA
and Paragraphs 2.19 to 2.22 of the Communications Data Code of Practice).
Service use information which is data relating to the use made by any person
of a communication service and may be the kind of information that habitually
used to appear on a Communications Service Provider’s (CSP’s) itemised
billing document to customers (see section 21(4)(b) and Paragraphs 2.23 and
2.24 of the Communications Data Code of Practice).
Subscriber information which is data held or obtained by a CSP in relation to
a customer and may be the kind of information which a customer typically
provides when they sign up to use a service. For example, the recorded name
and address of the subscriber of a telephone number or the account holder
of an email address. (See section 21(4)(c) and Paragraphs 2.25 and 2.26 of the
Communications Data Code of Practice).
Applications for Communications Data
4.3
There are a number of public authorities with statutory power to apply for
communications data under Chapter II. These include:
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Police forces
National Crime Agency (NCA)
Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
Security Service (Mi5)
Secret Intelligence Service (Mi6)
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ),
4.4
In addition, there are other public authorities specified under section 25(1) by order
of the Secretary of State. The additional public authorities are listed in the Regulation of
Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) Order 2010 (Statutory Instrument No. 480).
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