BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT
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2.18. In circumstances where it is impractical for the data to be acquired from, or
disclosed by, the service provider, or where there are security implications in doing
so, the data may be sought from the CSP which provides the communications service
offered by such hotels, restaurants, libraries and airport lounges. Equally,
circumstances may necessitate the acquisition of further communications data for
example, where a hotel is in possession of data identifying specific telephone calls
originating from a particular guest room.
2.19. Consultation with the public authority’s Single Point of Contact (SPoC) will
determine the most appropriate plan for acquiring data where the provision of a
communication service engages a number of providers, though it is the designated
person who ultimately decides which of the CSPs should be given a notice. With the
proliferation of modern communications media, including mobile telephony, internet
communications, and social networks, and given that one individual can use many
different forms of communications, the knowledge and experience of the SPoC in
providing advice and guidance to the designated person is significant in ensuring
appropriateness of any action taken to acquire the data necessary for an investigation.
If a CSP, having been given a notice, believes that in future another CSP is better
placed to respond, they should approach the authority to inform them of their view
after disclosing the relevant data that they hold.
2.20. Any conduct to determine the CSP that holds, or may hold, specific
communications data is not conduct to which the provisions of Chapter II apply. This
includes, for example, establishing from information available to the public or, where
necessary, from a service provider which provider makes available a specific service,
such as a particular telephone number or an internet protocol address.
2.21. Communications data is defined as:
traffic data (as defined by sections 21(4)(a) and 21(6) of RIPA) – this is
data that is or has been comprised in or attached to a communication for the
purpose of its transmission (see section starting at paragraph 2.24 of this
code for further detail);
service use information (as defined by section 21(4)(b) of RIPA) – this is
the data relating to the use made by a person of a communications service
(see section starting at paragraph 2.28 of this code for further detail); and
subscriber information (as defined by section 21(4)(c) of RIPA) – this
relates to information held or obtained by a CSP about persons to whom
the CSP provides or has provided a communications services. Those
persons will include people who are subscribers to a communications
service without necessarily using that service and persons who use a
communications service without necessarily subscribing to it (see section
starting at paragraph 2.30 of this code for further detail).
2.22. The data available on individuals, and the level of intrusion, differs between
the categories of data. The public authorities which can acquire the data and, in some
cases, the level of seniority of the designated person differ according to the categories
of data in question.
...
Traffic Data
2.24. RIPA defines certain communications data as ‘traffic data’ in
sections 21(4)(a) and 21(6) of RIPA. This is data that is or has been comprised in or