Change 1 Article Choose an article Title and introductory text 1 Overview of Act 2 General duties in relation to privacy 3 Offence of unlawful interception 4 Definition of “interception” etc. 5 Conduct that is not interception 6 Definition of “lawful authority” in relation to interceptions 7 Monetary penalties for certain unlawful interceptions 8 Civil liability for certain unlawful interceptions 9 Restriction on requesting interception by overseas authorities 10 Restriction on requesting assistance under mutual assistance agreements etc. 11 Offence of unlawfully obtaining communications data 12 Abolition or restriction of certain powers to obtain communications data 13 Mandatory use of equipment interference warrants 14 Restriction on use of section 93 of the Police Act 1997 15 Warrants that may be issued under this Chapter 16 Obtaining secondary data 17 Subject-matter of warrants 18 Persons who may apply for issue of a warrant 19 Power of Secretary of State to issue warrants 20 Grounds on which warrants may be issued by Secretary of State 21 Power of Scottish Ministers to issue warrants 22 “Relevant Scottish applications” 23 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 24 Approval of warrants issued in urgent cases 25 Failure to approve warrant issued in urgent case 26 Members of Parliament etc. 27 Items subject to legal privilege 28 Confidential journalistic material 29 Sources of journalistic information 30 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Ministers 31 Requirements that must be met by warrants 32 Duration of warrants 33 Renewal of warrants 34 Modification of warrants 35 Persons who may make modifications 36 Further provision about modifications 37 Notification of major modifications 38 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases 39 Cancellation of warrants 40 Special rules for certain mutual assistance warrants 41 Implementation of warrants 42 Service of warrants 43 Duty of operators to assist with implementation 44 Interception with the consent of the sender or recipient 45 Interception by providers of postal or telecommunications services 46 Interception by businesses etc. for monitoring and record-keeping purposes 47 Postal services: interception for enforcement purposes 48 Interception by OFCOM in connection with wireless telegraphy 49 Interception in prisons 50 Interception in psychiatric hospitals etc. 51 Interception in immigration detention facilities 52 Interception in accordance with overseas requests 53 Safeguards relating to retention and disclosure of material 54 Safeguards relating to disclosure of material overseas 55 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege 56 Exclusion of matters from legal proceedings etc. 57 Duty not to make unauthorised disclosures 58 Section 57: meaning of “excepted disclosure” 59 Offence of making unauthorised disclosures 60 Part 2: interpretation 60A Power of Investigatory Powers Commissioner to grant authorisations 61 Power of designated senior officers to grant authorisations 61A Power of designated senior officers to grant authorisations: urgent cases 62 Restrictions in relation to internet connection records 63 Additional restrictions on grant of authorisations under section 61 64 Procedure for authorisations and authorised notices 65 Duration and cancellation of authorisations and notices 66 Duties of telecommunications operators in relation to authorisations 67 Filtering arrangements for obtaining data 68 Use of filtering arrangements in pursuance of an authorisation 69 Duties in connection with operation of filtering arrangements 70 Relevant public authorities and designated senior officers etc. 71 Power to modify section 70 and Schedule 4 72 Certain regulations under section 71: supplementary 73 Local authorities as relevant public authorities 74 Requirement to be party to collaboration agreement 75 Judicial approval for local authority authorisations 76 Use of a single point of contact 77 Commissioner approval for authorisations to identify or confirm journalistic sources 78 Collaboration agreements 79 Collaboration agreements: supplementary 80 Police collaboration agreements 81 Lawfulness of conduct authorised by this Part 82 Offence of making unauthorised disclosure 83 Certain transfer and agency arrangements with public authorities 84 Application of Part 3 to postal operators and postal services 85 Extra-territorial application of Part 3 86 Part 3: interpretation 87 Powers to require retention of certain data 88 Matters to be taken into account before giving retention notices 89 Approval of retention notices by Judicial Commissioners 90 Review by the Secretary of State 91 Approval of notices following review under section 90 92 Data integrity and security 93 Disclosure of retained data 94 Variation or revocation of notices 94A Renewal of notices 95 Enforcement of notices and certain other requirements and restrictions 96 Application of Part 4 to postal operators and postal services 97 Extra-territorial application of Part 4 98 Part 4: interpretation 99 Warrants under this Part: general 100 Meaning of “equipment data” 101 Subject-matter of warrants 102 Power to issue warrants to intelligence services: the Secretary of State 103 Power to issue warrants to intelligence services: the Scottish Ministers 104 Power to issue warrants to the Chief of Defence Intelligence 105 Decision to issue warrants under sections 102 to 104 to be taken personally by Ministers 106 Power to issue warrants to law enforcement officers 107 Restriction on issue of warrants to certain law enforcement officers 108 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 109 Approval of warrants issued in urgent cases 110 Failure to approve warrant issued in urgent case 111 Members of Parliament etc. 112 Items subject to legal privilege 113 Confidential journalistic material 114 Sources of journalistic information 115 Requirements that must be met by warrants 116 Duration of warrants 117 Renewal of warrants 118 Modification of warrants issued by the Secretary of State or Scottish Ministers 119 Persons who may make modifications under section 118 120 Further provision about modifications under section 118 121 Notification of modifications 122 Approval of modifications under section 118 made in urgent cases 123 Modification of warrants issued by law enforcement chiefs 124 Approval of modifications under section 123 in urgent cases 125 Cancellation of warrants 126 Implementation of warrants 127 Service of warrants 128 Duty of telecommunications operators to assist with implementation 129 Safeguards relating to retention and disclosure of material 130 Safeguards relating to disclosure of material overseas 131 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege 132 Duty not to make unauthorised disclosures 133 Section 132: meaning of “excepted disclosure” 134 Offence of making unauthorised disclosure 135 Part 5: interpretation 136 Bulk interception warrants 137 Obtaining secondary data 138 Power to issue bulk interception warrants 139 Additional requirements in respect of warrants affecting overseas operators 140 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 141 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Secretary of State 142 Requirements that must be met by warrants 143 Duration of warrants 144 Renewal of warrants 145 Modification of warrants 146 Approval of major modifications by Judicial Commissioners 147 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases 148 Cancellation of warrants 149 Implementation of warrants 150 Safeguards relating to retention and disclosure of material 151 Safeguards relating to disclosure of material overseas 152 Safeguards relating to examination of material 153 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege 154 Additional safeguards for confidential journalistic material etc 154A Section 154: procedure where use of criteria approved by senior official 155 Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of material 156 Application of other restrictions in relation to warrants 157 Chapter 1: interpretation 158 Power to issue bulk acquisition warrants 159 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 160 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Secretary of State 161 Requirements that must be met by warrants 162 Duration of warrants 163 Renewal of warrants 164 Modification of warrants 165 Approval of major modifications by Judicial Commissioners 166 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases 167 Cancellation of warrants 168 Implementation of warrants 169 Service of warrants 170 Duty of operators to assist with implementation 171 Safeguards relating to the retention and disclosure of data 172 Safeguards relating to examination of data 173 Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of data 174 Offence of making unauthorised disclosure 175 Chapter 2: interpretation 176 Bulk equipment interference warrants: general 177 Meaning of “equipment data” 178 Power to issue bulk equipment interference warrants 179 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 180 Approval of warrants issued in urgent cases 181 Failure to approve warrant issued in urgent case 182 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Secretary of State 183 Requirements that must be met by warrants 184 Duration of warrants 185 Renewal of warrants 186 Modification of warrants 187 Approval of major modifications by Judicial Commissioners 188 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases 189 Cancellation of warrants 190 Implementation of warrants 191 Safeguards relating to retention and disclosure of material 192 Safeguards relating to disclosure of material overseas 193 Safeguards relating to examination of material etc. 194 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege 195 Additional safeguards for confidential journalistic material etc 195A Section 195: procedure where use of criteria approved by senior official 196 Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of material 197 Application of other restrictions in relation to warrants 198 Chapter 3: interpretation 199 Bulk personal datasets: interpretation 200 Requirement for authorisation ...: general 201 Exceptions to section 200(1) and (2) 202 Restriction on use of class BPD warrants 202A Further provision about sensitive processing 203 Meaning of “protected data” 204 Class BPD warrants 205 Specific BPD warrants 206 Additional safeguards for health records 207 Protected data: power to impose conditions 208 Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 209 Approval of specific BPD warrants issued in urgent cases 210 Failure to approve specific BPD warrant issued in urgent case 211 Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Secretary of State 212 Requirements that must be met by warrants 213 Duration of warrants 214 Renewal of warrants 215 Modification of warrants 216 Approval of major modifications by Judicial Commissioners 217 Approval of major modifications made in urgent cases 218 Cancellation of warrants 219 Non-renewal or cancellation of BPD warrants 220 Initial examinations: time limits 221 Safeguards relating to examination of bulk personal datasets 222 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege: examination 223 Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege: retention following examination 224 Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of material 225 Application of Part to bulk personal datasets obtained under this Act 226 Part 7: interpretation 226A Bulk personal datasets: low or no reasonable expectation of privacy 226B Individual authorisation 226BA Category authorisation 226BB Approval of authorisations by Judicial Commissioners 226BC Approval of individual authorisations granted in urgent cases 226C Duration of authorisation 226CA Renewal of authorisation 226CB Cancellation of authorisation 226CC Non-renewal or cancellation of individual authorisation 226CD Non-renewal or cancellation of category authorisation 226D Section 226A ceasing to apply to part of bulk personal dataset 226DA Annual report 226DB Report to Intelligence and Security Committee 226DC Part 7A: interpretation 226E Third party bulk personal datasets: interpretation 226F Requirement for authorisation by warrant 226FA Exceptions to section 226F(1) 226G Application for third party BPD warrant 226GA Approval of warrants by Judicial Commissioners 226GB Approval of third party BPD warrants issued in urgent cases 226GC Decisions to issue warrants to be taken personally by Secretary of State 226GD Requirements that must be met by warrants 226H Duration of warrants 226HA Renewal of warrants 226HB Cancellation of warrants 226HC Non-renewal or cancellation of third party BPD warrant 226I Initial inspection 226IA Safeguards relating to examination of third party bulk personal datasets 226IB Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege: examination 226IC Additional safeguards for items subject to legal privilege: retention following examination 226ID Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of material 226IE Part 7B: interpretation 227 Investigatory Powers Commissioner and other Judicial Commissioners 228 Terms and conditions of appointment 228A Temporary Judicial Commissioners 229 Main oversight functions 230 Additional directed oversight functions 231 Error reporting 232 Additional functions under this Part 233 Functions under other Parts and other enactments 234 Annual and other reports 235 Investigation and information powers 235A Personal data breaches 236 Referrals by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament 237 Information gateway 238 Funding, staff and facilities etc. 239 Power to modify functions 240 Abolition of existing oversight bodies 241 Codes of practice 242 Right of appeal from Tribunal 243 Functions of Tribunal in relation to this Act etc. 244 Oversight by Information Commission in relation to Part 4 245 Technical Advisory Board 246 Technology Advisory Panel 247 Members of the Panel 248 Combination of warrants and authorisations 249 Payments towards certain compliance costs 250 Power to develop compliance systems etc. 251 Amendments of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 252 National security notices 253 Technical capability notices 254 Approval of notices by Judicial Commissioners 255 Further provision about notices under section 252 or 253 256 Variation and revocation of notices 256A Renewal of notices 257 Review of notices by the Secretary of State 258 Approval of notices following review under section 257 258A Notification of proposed changes to telecommunications services etc 258B Variation and revocation of notices given under section 258A 259 Amendments of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 260 Review of operation of Act 261 Telecommunications definitions 262 Postal definitions 263 General definitions 264 General definitions: “journalistic material” etc. 265 Index of defined expressions 266 Offences by bodies corporate etc. 267 Regulations 268 Enhanced affirmative procedure 269 Financial provisions 270 Transitional, transitory or saving provision 271 Minor and consequential provision 272 Commencement, extent and short title SCHEDULE 1 Monetary penalty notices SCHEDULE 2 Abolition of disclosure powers Schedule 2A Specified public authorities for the purposes of section 12 SCHEDULE 3 Exceptions to section 56 SCHEDULE 4 Relevant public authorities and designated senior officers etc. SCHEDULE 5 Transfer and agency arrangements with public authorities: further provisions SCHEDULE 6 Issue of warrants under section 106 etc: table SCHEDULE 7 Codes of practice SCHEDULE 8 Combination of warrants and authorisations SCHEDULE 9 Transitional, transitory and saving provision SCHEDULE 10 Minor and consequential provision
What to do with it
As published
82 Offence of making unauthorised disclosure
(1) It is an offence for a telecommunications operator, or any person employed or engaged for the purposes of the business of a telecommunications operator, to disclose, without reasonable excuse, to any person the existence of—
(a) any requirement imposed on the operator by virtue of this Part to disclose communications data relating to that person, or
(b) any request made in pursuance of an authorisation for the operator to disclose such data.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), it is, in particular, a reasonable excuse if the disclosure is made with the permission of the relevant public authority which is seeking to obtain the data from the operator (whether the permission is contained in any notice requiring the operator to disclose the data or otherwise).
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court (or 6 months, if the offence was committed before 2 May 2022), or
(ii) to a fine,
or to both;
(b) on summary conviction in Scotland—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or
(ii) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(c) on summary conviction in Northern Ireland—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or
(ii) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(d) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or to both.
Your wording
Your change, as a redline
82 Offence of making unauthorised disclosure
(1) It is an offence for a telecommunications operator, or any person employed or engaged for the purposes of the business of a telecommunications operator, to disclose, without reasonable excuse, to any person the existence of—
(a) any requirement imposed on the operator by virtue of this Part to disclose communications data relating to that person, or
(b) any request made in pursuance of an authorisation for the operator to disclose such data.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), it is, in particular, a reasonable excuse if the disclosure is made with the permission of the relevant public authority which is seeking to obtain the data from the operator (whether the permission is contained in any notice requiring the operator to disclose the data or otherwise).
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court (or 6 months, if the offence was committed before 2 May 2022), or
(ii) to a fine,
or to both;
(b) on summary conviction in Scotland—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or
(ii) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(c) on summary conviction in Northern Ireland—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or
(ii) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(d) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or to both.
A proposal here is not law. Support on Solon is evidence that people want the change; the official route says what it takes to make it law.