2011 Annual Report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner
3.1. Part I, Chapters I and II of RIPA – Lawful Intercept and
Communications Data
It may be helpful to restate here the difference between lawful interception and acquisition of
communications data. Both fall under the remit to oversee, but they are differently authorised
and used to different extents.
The power to acquire the content of a communication, be it an email, telephone call or SMS
message, is provided under Part I, Chapter I of RIPA. It requires a warrant signed by a Secretary
of State or Scottish Ministers.
Part I, Chapter II of RIPA, provides the power to acquire communications data. This represents
the ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of a communications event, and requires an authorisation by a
designated person of an appropriate grade within the public authority with the requisite powers
under RIPA.
I set out in the section that follows details of the legislative provisions within RIPA in relation
to lawful interception and the acquisition of communications data. In addition, (in order to
aid understanding of the distinction between communications data and lawful interception) I
have set out the different authorisation processes and inspection regimes employed by myself
and my inspectors to check compliance in relation to lawful intercept and the acquisition of
communications data.
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