Interception Errors
Error reporting is an important part of the oversight regime. It is vital to ensure a consistency
of approach from all interception agencies in terms of the thresholds, judgments and
reporting criterion for errors. I welcome efforts in the Investigatory Powers Bill and the
draft Code of Practice for the Interception of Communications to define an error and to
introduce error reporting procedures.
Error statistics
The total number of interception errors reported to IOCCO during 2016 was 108 – a
marked increase on the previous year’s total of 68. The increase can be partly explained
by the clearing of a backlog of previous errors by GCHQ. The breakdown of the causes
of the errors is contained in Figure 14.
Figure 14 Breakdown of the causes of interception errors.
incorrect person 3%
incorrect
communications
address
failure to cancel
interception
14%
safegaurds
breaches
45%
22%
6%
stored communication
acquired w/o lawful authority
www.iocco-uk.info
10%
No Lawful Authority
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