7. SAFEGUARDS
7.1. All material intercepted under the authority of a warrant
complying with section 8(1) or section 8(4) of RIPA and any related
communications data20 must be handled in accordance with
safeguards which the Secretary of State has approved in conformity
with the duty imposed on him or her by RIPA. These safeguards are
made available to the Interception of Communications
Commissioner, and they must meet the requirements of section 15 of
RIPA which are set out below. In addition, the safeguards in section
16 of RIPA apply to warrants complying with section 8(4). Any
breach of these safeguards must be reported to the Interception of
Communications Commissioner. The intercepting agencies must keep
their internal safeguards under periodic review to ensure that they
remain up-to-date and effective. During the course of such periodic
reviews, the agencies must consider whether more of their internal
arrangements might safely and usefully be put into the public domain.
The section 15 safeguards
7.2. Section 15 of RIPA requires that disclosure, copying and
retention of intercepted material is limited to the minimum necessary
for the authorised purposes. Section 15(4) of RIPA provides that
something is necessary for the authorised purposes if the intercepted
material:
• Continues to be, or is likely to become, necessary for any of the
purposes set out in section 5(3) – namely, in the interests of
national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious
crime, or for the purpose, in circumstances appearing to the
Secretary of State to be relevant to the interests of national security,
of safeguarding the economic well-being of the UK; 21
20 References in this code to ‘intercepted material’ include for the purposes of section 15 any related
communications data. Further information regarding the use of related communications data is to be
found in the Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Code of Practice.
21 Intercepted material and related communications data obtained for one purpose can, where it is
necessary and proportionate to do so, be disclosed, copied and retained for another.
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