27/02/2017.

Views are sought on five draft statutory codes of practice that will set out in detail – with examples of best practice – how each of five powers in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 should be used by public authorities, including law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies.

‘Investigatory Powers Act 2016: codes of practice’ (responses by 6 April) provides an overview of the Act and its aims, which are to

  • Bring together powers already available to law enforcement and the security and intelligence agencies, making them and the safeguards that apply to them clear and understandable.
  • Radically overhaul the way they are authorised and overseen, introducing a ‘double lock’ for the most intrusive.
  • Ensure powers are fit for the digital age.

The five codes, which will be laid before parliament for approval after the consultations, are

  • interception of communications
  • bulk communications data acquisition
  • bulk personal datasets
  • equipment interference
  • national security notices