Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Communications data definition

What does Communications data mean? Communications data, in the postal context, describes non-content information about a postal communication and the use of a postal service. In the UK (England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), it is defined in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 to include: (a) postal data that is comprised in, attached to or logically associated with a postal communication, whether added by the sender or otherwise (for example names and addresses on packaging, barcodes and tracking identifiers); (b) information about any person’s use of a postal service (for example posting, handling, routing, delivery and tracking events), excluding the content...

Communications data retention under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (Part 4): retention notices, judicial approval, review, variation, extra-territorial reach and key case law (UK)

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Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. For guidance on the acquisition, Retention and disclosure of Communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA 2016), see Practice Note: Acquisition, retention and disclosure of communications data under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. IPA 2016 sets the current legal framework for public authorities’ use of covert surveillance. Much—though not all—of this regime previously appeared in the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). The rules on retaining communications data are contained in IPA 2016, Pt 4. Part 4 permits telecommunications and postal operators to retain communications data so that, where authorised under IPA 2016, public authorities can access it subsequently. For more on IPA 2016, see Practice Note: The regulation of intelligence gathering—an introductory guide.

Powers to require retention of certain types of data

Under IPA 2016, s 87, the Secretary of State may give a retention notice requiring a telecommunications operator to keep ‘relevant communications data’, provided that at least one of a number of specified conditions is satisfied and the decision to issue the notice has...

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Carolina Bracken

5 Paper Buildings

Carolina is a criminal barrister at 5 Paper Buildings. Her practice encompasses a broad variety of criminal and quasi-criminal cases, including professional disciplinary and regulatory matters. Carolina often prosecutes on behalf of Local Authorities in environmental, planning, and health and safety cases, with a particular emphasis on consumer and trading standards prosecutions. As she is often instructed to advise pre-charge, she understands the powers available to investigators, and the particular sensitivities of the investigation process. In addition, Carolina often represents professional clients in disciplinary proceedings following the linked criminal prosecution. An unusually significant part of her practice involves confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, and she frequently deploys her knowledge of property law and trusts when representing third party interveners. In confiscation proceedings, she has acted for defendants involved in one of the largest heroin seizures, and the largest...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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