RIPA Part I Chapter II consultation

2.12 The code covers any conduct relating to the exercise of powers and duties under Chapter II of Part I of the Act to acquire or disclose communications data Communications data is defined in section 21(4) of the Act.

2.13 The term ‘communications data’ embraces the ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of a communication but not the content, not what was said or written. It includes the manner in which, and by what method, a person or machine communicates with another person or machine. It excludes what they say or what data they pass on within a communication (with the exception of traffic data to establish another communication such as that created from the use of calling cards, redirection services, or in the commission of ‘dial through’ fraud and other crimes where data is passed on to activate communications equipment in order to fraudulently obtain communications services).

2.14 Communications data is generated, held or obtained in the provision, delivery and maintenance of communications services, those being postal services^[23] or telecommunications services.^[24]

• ^[23] Sections 2(1) and 81(1) of the Act define ‘postal service’ to mean any service which consists in the collection, sorting, conveyance, distribution and delivery (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) of postal items and is offered or provided as a service the main purpose of which, or one of the main purposes of which, is to transmit postal items from place to place.

• ^[24] See footnote 3

2.15 Communications service providers may therefore include those persons who provide services where customers, guests or members of the public are provided with access to communications services that are ancillary to the provision of another service, for example in hotels, restaurants, libraries and airport lounges.

2.16 In circumstances where it is impractical for the data to be acquired from or disclosed by the service provider, or there are security implications in doing so, the data may be sought from the communications service provider 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.

2.17 Consultation with the public authority’s Single Point of Contact (SPoC)^[25] will determine the most appropriate mechanism for acquiring data where the provision of a communication service engages a number of providers.

• ^[25] See paragraph 3.12