URLs, IPs and interception

[Peter Fairbrother]

Ian Batten wrote:
> 
> On 29 Feb 2008, at 23:14, Chris Edwards wrote:
> 
>> On Fri, 29 Feb 2008, Peter Fairbrother wrote:
>>
>> | Looking at RIPA again (and I'm sorry if it's boring, but !! ..), can 
>> an ISP
>> | give out traffic data without it being interception?
>>
>> AUIU interception is concerned with content, not mere traffic data.
>>
>> However, a list of URLs (the full URL, not just the hostname bit) is
>> in effect content data, as one can often "fetch" the page in question
>> and thus read the full content.
> 
> And I'm sure that Simon was on board with the conclusion for Home Office 
> purposes that traffic data was everything between the // and the first 
> /, but anything after that required a content warrant to collect and 
> pass on.

Yes - but ISPs can't even look at the bits between, even though it's 
"just" traffic data, unless it's to "facilitat[e] the transmission of 
communications".

And to do the last they just need to look at IPs - and even then they 
can only even look at IPs if the reason for them looking is to 
"facilitat[e] the transmission of communications".


If they look at IPs for any other reasons, for instance in order to sell 
subscriber data, then they are doing an interception - and afaict it is 
an illegal interception.


-- Peter Fairbrother