§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the limits on the information which the police can demand from service providers in respect of e-mail without the need to secure approval from him. [63792]
§ Mr. StrawUnder the Interception of Communications Act 1985, e-mail in the course of its transmission over the public telecommunications network may be intercepted only under a warrant issued by the Secretary of State or for one of the limited purposes in section 1(2) or 1(3) of the Act. E-mail held by an Internet Service Provider is subject to data protection legislation and any conditions in the service provider's licence. It is open to the police to apply for a court order in order to obtain any e-mail retained by an Internet Service Provider.