BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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of the data has been assessed to be necessary and proportionate. If continued retention
of any such data is thereafter assessed to no longer meet the tests of necessity and
proportionality, it must be deleted. So far as possible, all retention periods should be
implemented by a process of automated deletion, which is triggered once the
applicable maximum retention period has been reached for the data at issue.
Personnel security
7.10. All persons who may have access to intercepted material or need to see any
reporting in relation to it must be appropriately vetted. On an annual basis, managers
must identify any concerns that may lead to the vetting of individual members of staff
being reconsidered. The vetting of each individual member of staff must also be
periodically reviewed. Where it is necessary for an officer of one agency to disclose
intercepted material to another, it is the former’s responsibility to ensure that the
recipient has the necessary clearance.
The section 16 safeguards
7.11. Section 16 provides for additional safeguards in relation to intercepted
material gathered under section 8(4) warrants, requiring that the safeguards:
Ensure that intercepted material is read, looked at or listened to by any
person only to the extent that the intercepted material is certified; and
Regulate the use of selection factors that refer to the communications of
individuals known to be currently in the British Islands.
7.12. In addition, any individual selection of intercepted material must be
proportionate in the particular circumstances (given section 6(1) of the Human Rights
Act 1998).
7.13. The certificate ensures that a selection process is applied to material
intercepted under section 8(4) warrants so that only material described in the
certificate is made available for human examination (in the sense of being read,
looked at or listened to). No official is permitted to gain access to the data other than
as permitted by the certificate.
7.14. In general, automated systems must, where technically possible, be used to
effect the selection in accordance with section 16(1) of RIPA. As an exception, a
certificate may permit intercepted material to be accessed by a limited number of
specifically authorised staff without having been processed or filtered by the
automated systems. Such access may only be permitted to the extent necessary to
determine whether the material falls within the main categories to be selected under
the certificate, or to ensure that the methodology being used remains up to date and
effective. Such checking must itself be necessary on the grounds specified in
section 5(3) of RIPA. Once those functions have been fulfilled, any copies made of
the material for those purposes must be destroyed in accordance with section 15(3) of
RIPA. Such checking by officials should be kept to an absolute minimum; whenever
possible, automated selection techniques should be used instead. Checking will be
kept under review by the Interception of Communications Commissioner during his or
her inspections.
7.15. Material gathered under a section 8(4) warrant should be read, looked at or
listened to only by authorised persons who receive regular mandatory training
regarding the provisions of RIPA and specifically the operation of section 16 and the
requirements of necessity and proportionality. These requirements and procedures
must be set out in internal guidance provided to all authorised persons and the
attention of all authorised persons must be specifically directed to the statutory