BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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phone number may be obtainable from a phone book or other publically available
sources.
2.41. The relevance of any time periods requested must be explained, outlining how
these periods are proportionate to the event under investigation.
2.42. An examination of the proportionality of the application should particularly
include a consideration of the rights (particularly to privacy and, in relevant cases,
freedom of expression) of the individual and a balancing of these rights against the
benefit to the investigation.
2.43. Collateral intrusion is the obtaining of any information relating to individuals
other than the subject(s) of the investigation. Consideration of collateral intrusion
forms part of the proportionality considerations, and becomes increasingly relevant
when applying for traffic data or service use data. Applications should include details
of what collateral intrusion may occur and how the time periods requested impact on
the collateral intrusion. When there are no meaningful collateral intrusion risks, such
as when applying for subscriber details of the person under investigation, the absence
of collateral intrusion should be noted.
2.44. An examination of the proportionality of the application should also involve a
consideration of possible unintended consequences and, when, relevant this should be
noted. Unintended consequences of an application are outcomes that are not intended
by the application.
2.45. Unintended consequences are more likely in more complicated requests for
traffic data or in applications for the data of those in professions with duties of
confidentiality. For example, if a journalist is a victim of crime, applications for
service use data related to that journalist’s phone number as part of the criminal
investigation may also return some phone numbers of that journalist’s sources, with
unintended impact on freedom of expression. Such an application may still be
necessary and proportionate but the risk of unintended consequences should be
considered. The special considerations that arise in such cases are discussed further in
the section on “Communications data involving certain professions”.
3 GENERAL RULES ON THE GRANTING OF AUTHORISATIONS AND
GIVING OF NOTICES
3.1. Acquisition of communications data under RIPA involves four roles within a
relevant public authority:
the applicant;
the designated person;
the single point of contact; and
the senior responsible officer
3.2. RIPA provides two alternative means for acquiring communications data, by
way of:
an authorisation under section 22(3); or
a notice under section 22(4).
An authorisation granted to a member of a public authority permits that person to
engage in conduct relating to the acquisition and disclosure of communications data
under Part I Chapter II of RIPA. A notice given to a postal or telecommunications
operator requires it to disclose the relevant communications data held by it to a public