Update on implementation of the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act 2024 and the Communications Data Codes of Practice

Following the Royal Assent of the Investigatory Powers (Amendment) Act earlier this year, the Home Office Ministers have now agreed to (a) publish the consultation on the new/revised draft Codes of Practice and Notices Regulations, and (b) commence the Act’s Communications Data provisions, in reliance on the new/revised Communications Data draft Codes of Practice.

NAFN reported that the consultation will run for 12 weeks and will cover all the Codes of Practice that are being updated or introduced as a result of the Amendment Act being passed.

NAFN’s report stated that:

“The most notable change to the Communications Data Codes of Practice is that the notices section has been removed to form its own Code of Practice. The remaining text remains largely the same but has been updated to be clearer for the community. The updates seek to address the feedback raised by operational partners, TO’s, IPCO and the ICO during the informal consultation process which took place over the summer. Thank you for your time if you engaged with that process.
 
“Changes to the Code have been made primarily to reflect changes made by the Amendment Act. These changes include updates which reflect the amended section 11, where we have provided clarity on the circumstances of when a section 11 offence would occur. We have added a non-exhaustive list of lawful authorities and created a carve out of the sharing of data between public authorities where it is for the purpose of authenticating information.

“To Internet Connection Records (ICRs) we have added a new Condition D which expands upon the provisions in the existing Condition A. This capability will only be available for use by the UK Intelligence Community and the National Crime Agency.
 
“The Amendment Act also clarified the definition of ‘subscriber data/account data’, again to provide clarity when obtaining such data.
 
“Finally, the definition of ‘regulatory and supervisory’ in section 12 has been expanded to make it clear that public authorities conducting civil investigations in support of their regulatory and/or supervisory functions are able to rely on their statutory powers as Parliament intended.
 
“In addition to updates to the Code to reflect the changes made in the Amendment Act, we have also taken this opportunity to integrate the additional guidance (known as the IPA vs DPA guidance) published in April 2023 on gov.uk into the Code to place it on a statutory footing and to provide greater clarity.”