The All Party Internet Group (APIG), a group open to members of
the Houses of Parliament, has announced that it will hold a public
inquiry into the retention of and access to communications data for
law enforcement purposes.
APIG said it will primarily focus on the powers contained in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), the Anti-Terrorism, Crime & Security Act and their subsequent effect on ISPs and communication service providers.
The inquiry will specifically examine:
- Powers incorporated in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act of 2000;
- The voluntary and compulsory data retention regimes found in the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act of 2001;
- Relevant European Directives;
- The Data Retention, Preservation and Partial Disclosure regimes in the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime;
- The extent to which communications data is held outside the direct control of Communications Service Providers (CSPs) and how this should be addressed;
- The value of communication data access to Law Enforcement Agencies, the types of data that are of importance and the periods for which it should be retained;
- The value of access to retained data by further authorities beyond those currently authorised by the RIP Act;
- The difficulties faced by Law Enforcement Agencies in conforming with existing legislation;
- The mechanisms that should be put in place to allow expedited data preservation and partial disclosure of traffic data to Law Enforcement Agencies in foreign countries;
- The costs to the CSPs of retaining communications data and in providing access to retained data;
- Competition issues for CSPs; and
- Privacy Issues
Public hearings on these issues will be held in the House of Commons on 11th and 18th December when MPs will hold oral evidence with the industry, government and other interested bodies. The group will publish a report on the findings early next year.
