What is Communications Data?

[Ian G Batten]

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Roland Perry wrote:

> In message <012438016373D411A0F300508BBD04A5022EB8EF@L01EB006>, Watkin
> Simon <Simon.Watkin@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk> writes
> >If an e-mail with content in the headers were lawfully intercepted it's not
> >an issue.  Where the e-mail (or a copy of it) is on a server at an ISP, and
> >is no longer in the course of its transmission, the proper means access
> >would not be under Pt I Chapter II of RIPA but a Production Order.
> 
> This is a rather novel approach. Pt1 Ch2 is normally regarded as about
> disclosure of comms data that's been logged (and retained), without any
> reference to the current state of delivered-ness of the content
> associated with it.

Is mail sat on a server at an ISP ``in transmission'' or not?  I'd argue
that stuff sat in /var/spool/mqueue (or its moral equivalent) was
definitely ``in transmission''.  What about stuff which is in a mailbox
accessible via POP/IMAP?

ian