comprised “merely some ten percent of all telecommunications”.93 In
addition, “the persons concerned had to have taken part in an international
telephone conversation via satellite connections or radio relay links” (§97).
In practice, the Government could only initially intercept a portion of
those communications, namely where satellite signals or radio relay links
“covered the area in which [an intercept] station was located.” (§31).
Finally, “the persons concerned either had to have used catchwords capable
of triggering an investigation into the dangers listed…or had to be foreign
nationals or companies whose telephone connections could be monitored
deliberately in order to avoid such dangers.” (§97). In practice, “monitoring
was restricted to a limited number of foreign countries” and the legislation
prohibited “the telephone connections of German nationals living abroad
could not be monitored directly.” (§110). Thus, “[t]he identity of persons
telecommunicating could only be uncovered in rare cases in which a
catchword had been used.” (§110).
151.
By contrast, in the present case, as discussed below, the category of
persons liable to affected by s8(4) is every person who uses the internet.
The s8(4) Regime does not meaningfully differentiate between “internal”
and “external” communications, nor does it apply “catchwords” at the
point of initial interception. It also lacks a prohibition against monitoring
the communications of UK nationals living abroad. Finally, GCHQ not
only has considerable resources but has also deployed them to uncover the
identities of persons communicating. Consider, for example, its ability to
create detailed profiles of individuals by cross-referencing pieces of
communications data, such as IP addresses, user IDs and email addresses
using the KARMA POLICE, Black Hole and MUTANT BROTH
programmes (see Factual appendix, paras 4-9).
See section 3(1) of the G10 Act and Weber, §§ 26, 27, 30 and 31. Fixed-line communications
could be intercepted for the sole purpose of preventing an armed attack on Germany.
93
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