BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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consider and, where appropriate, provide advice to the designated person
on possible unintended consequences of the application;
provide assurance to CSPs that authorisations and notices are authentic and
lawful;
assess whether communications data disclosed by a CSP in response to a
notice fulfils the requirement of the notice;
assess whether communications data obtained by means of an authorisation
fulfils the requirement of the authorisation; and
assess any cost and resource implications to both the public authority and
the CSP of data requirements.
3.23. The SPoC would normally be the person who takes receipt of any
communications data acquired from a CSP (see paragraphs 3.33 and 3.49) and would
normally be responsible for its dissemination to the applicant.
3.24. Public authorities unable to call upon the services of an accredited SPoC
should not undertake the acquisition of communications data. Nonetheless, in the
course of a joint investigation between authority A with no SPoC and authority B with
RIPA communications data acquisition powers, authority B may, where necessary and
proportionate, acquire communications data under RIPA to further the joint
investigation.
3.25. In circumstances where a CSP is approached by a person who cannot be
authenticated as an accredited individual and who seeks to obtain data under the
provisions of RIPA, the CSP may refuse to comply with any apparent requirement for
disclosure of data until confirmation of both the person’s accreditation and their SPoC
authentication identifier is obtained from the Home Office.
3.26. For each individual application, the roles of SPoC and designated persons will
normally be carried out by two persons. In exceptional cases, such as those covered
under the urgent oral procedure or, on rare occasions, for security reasons, both roles
may be carried out by the same person. One person may, in separate applications,
carry out the roles of either the SPoC or the designated person.
3.27. For each individual application, the roles of SPOC and Applicant will also
normally be carried out by two persons. In exceptional cases, such as those covered
under the urgent oral procedure or, on rare occasions, for security reasons, both roles
may be carried out by the same person. One person may, in separate applications,
carry out the roles of either the SPOC or the Applicant.
3.28. The same person must never be both the applicant and the designated person.
Clearly, therefore, the same person should never be an applicant, a designated person
and a SPoC.
3.29. Where a public authority seeks to obtain communications data using
provisions providing explicitly for the obtaining of communications data (other than
Chapter II of Part I of RIPA) or using statutory powers conferred by a warrant or
order issued by the Secretary of State or a person holding judicial office, the SPoC
should be engaged in the process of obtaining the data to ensure effective
co‑operation between the public authority and the CSP.
3.30. Occasionally public authorities will wish to request data from CSPs that is
neither communications data nor the content of communications. Given the training