Local authorities making little use of communications data powers: report

Local authorities are making little use of their powers to intercept and acquire communications data, the annual report of the Interception of Communications Commissioner has found.

In his report, Sir Anthony May said that of 514,608 notices and authorisations made, 87.7% came from police forces and other 11.5% from intelligence agencies, 0.5% from other public bodies and only 0.3% from local authorities.

He found that 121 local authorities said they had never used their powers to acquire communications data, while 172 did not use their powers in 2013 but had in previous years.

During 2013, the powers were used by 132 councils, the most prolific of which were Birmingham City Council and the London boroughs of Bromley and Enfield, all of which had 87 cases.

Sir Anthony said the RIPA 2000 Part I Chapter I, which regulates the interception of data, “is difficult legislation and a reader’s eyes glaze over before reaching the end of section 1, that is, if the reader ever starts”.

But he was satisfied that UK agencies used their powers properly and said there would be no purpose in them randomly intercepting the public’s emails since the volume of material would be impossible to handle.

“A large body of unfiltered data is useless,” he said. “An individual or group of individuals cannot possibly have sentient access to a single minute’s amount of unfiltered UK communications, let alone communications over any longer period.”