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IPCO Annual Report 2018
or leaving the equipment in situ after the authorisation has been cancelled. Any material
obtained from unauthorised activity is handled with appropriate care and we ensure that
destruction takes place.
17.24
We have noted, however, that errors have been reported in relation to the monitoring of
social media sites without the requisite authorisation in place. This remains a relatively new
investigative methodology. Many public authorities have embarked on training programmes
to raise awareness amongst staff and have published guidance on the use of the internet
on their own intranet sites to ensure that this resource is used in a controlled, auditable
and compliant manner. We will keep a close review of this area and would expect to see
report fall in errors of this kind in our 2019 Annual Report.
Communications data (CD) errors: law enforcement, public authorities and prisons
17.25
In 2018, 903 CD errors were reported to the Commissioner by relevant authorities,
compared to 926 errors reported in 2017. The breakdown of errors is largely consistent
with 2017 and we have noted that the most common error remains the submission of an
incorrect communications address by an applicant. 42% of errors were made by Special
Points of Contact (SPoCs), which is reflective of their role in the acquisition of CD. We
have encouraged law enforcement to limit the impact of incidental errors through data
validation and, in particular, suggested that internet-based CD should not be the sole
basis for action. We believe that communications data errors should be identifiable before
officers approach the wrong address or individual. We are encouraged that there have been
numerous examples of where additional validation checks have identified errors before
action was taken.
Reportable errors
Law Enforcement Agencies
758
Communications Service Providers
126
Others
13
Public Authorities
Total
903*
Table 4: Reportable errors in relation to law enforcement, 2018
* Five errors were identified during IPCO inspections and subsequently reported
17.26
6
The majority of CD errors reported by law enforcement authorities and public bodies
related to actions by the SPoC or applicant, as shown by the tables below.