Communications data is information generated about a communication. It includes the time and duration of a communication, the number or e-mail address of the originator and recipient and, sometimes, the location of the device from which the communication was made. Communications data is distinct from communications content.
The legislation put forward by the Government will require Communications Service Providers, when requested to do so, to retain and store communications records which they may not retain at present for their own business reasons.
Communications data is already used by the police. Indeed, it’s vital for day-to-day police work and, in particular, the investigation of all forms of serious crime, including terrorism and child abuse. David Cameron and Co believe thislegislation will ensure that, as communications technology changes, the police will maintain access to this data in future. Access to data will continue to be permitted only in the context of a specific investigation or operation.
Four key bodies will be allowed to apply for access to data under new rules in the Bill – the police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)/National Crime Agency (NCA), the intelligence agencies and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.
Currently, hundreds of public bodies – including local authorities – have access to communications data but will not be covered by the new laws unless Parliament agrees their use is vital to tackling crime and protecting the public.
Tackling crime and terrorism
The Communications Data Bill will ensure law enforcement agencies maintain the ability to tackle crime and terrorism as criminals use modern technology and new ways of communicating to plan and commit crime. Without action by Government, crimes enabled by e-mail and the Internet will increasingly go undetected and unpunished.
There has been a huge increase in the use of new technology – and the volume of data – on UK networks in recent years. There are now more than 80 million mobile phone subscriptions in the UK. Over a quarter of UK adults are smart phone users, with 60% of them buying their phone in the last year. Data volumes transferred over mobile networks increased by 67% in 2010.
Publishing the Data Communications Bill, Home Secretary Theresa May said: “Communications data saves lives. It’s a vital tool for the police to catch criminals and to protect children. If we stand by as technology changes we will leave police officers fighting crime with one hand tied behind their backs. Checking communication records, not content, is a crucial part of day-to-day policing and the ‘fingerprinting’ of the modern age. We’re determined to ensure its continued availability in cracking down on crime.”
This new legislation will help ensure police can stay one step ahead of the criminals. That said, the Government is adamant it will not:
Regulatory framework: what does it look like?
The new proposals will see communications data taken out of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and the creation of an all-new regulatory framework.
Access to the majority of communications data is currently conducted through RIPA, but there are a multitude of other powers public bodies can use (including Acts governing environmental protection, pensions and financial services).
The new Data Communications Bill will replace the dozens of currently available powers with a single piece of legislation, all under the auspices of the Interception of a Communications Commissioner.
The legislation will also ensure there is a level playing field for Communication Service Providers (CSPs). They will be reimbursed for any costs of complying with legislation. Obligations will not be placed on every CSP and will only be imposed after detailed discussion and ministerial sign-off.
CSPs will be able to appeal to a technical advisory board under dispute procedures if they feel requests made of them are unnecessarily onerous.
Essential mechanism for protecting the public
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) crime head Jon Murphy, the chief constable of Merseyside Police, said: “Communications data is vital to law enforcement. It’s an essential and irreplaceable tool for protecting the public, keeping people safe from harm and, ultimately, saving lives. It provides investigative breakthroughs to the most serious of crimes, including child abuse, murder, rape, kidnapping, cyber crime and terrorism offences.”
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) chief executive Peter Davies stated: “We protect and safeguard children and pursue offenders who cause such serious harm. Without communications data and intelligence we would not be able to act as fast as we need to and, in many instances, we would not be in a position to act at all.”
Also commenting on the legislation, SOCA’s director general Trevor Pearce explained: “Any significant reduction in the capability of law enforcement agencies to acquire and exploit intercept intelligence and evidential communications data would lead to more unsolved murders, more firearms on our streets, more successful robberies, more unresolved kidnaps, more harm from the use of Class A drugs, more illegal immigration and more unsolved serious crime overall.”
Pearce concluded: “This would mean SOCA, the Metropolitan Police Service and other agencies relying more heavily on more expensive, more risky and potentially more intrusive techniques to locate and apprehend offenders.”
ACPO’s lead for organised crime, chief constable Mick Creedon, said: “The impact of communications data on serious criminal investigations should not be underestimated. It’s critical to the ability of the police service to protect the public. Data from landline and mobile telephone networks has proved invaluable in bringing successful prosecutions, for example against the serial killer Levi Bellfield, and it’s imperative that this capability is maintained.”
Creedon went on to state: “What’s becoming clear within police forces and organisations such as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre and the Serious Organised Crime Agency is that criminals have adapted to take advantage of the opportunities that social media and other new telecommunications networks and platforms have created. As the behaviour of criminals has changed, so there is a need to look at how the police and law enforcement agencies can continue to investigate crime, save lives and keep pace with criminality. It’s a matter for Government to ensure the right boundaries are set so that our approaches are justified, necessary and proportionate.”
