Lawful interception is the legal collection of communication data by authorized individuals or agencies, often requiring a court order. It can include phone calls, emails, and internet traffic logs. Supporters argue it aids law enforcement and intelligence gathering, while privacy advocates are concerned about potential risks and violations of privacy rights. Many nations have laws regulating lawful interception, including privacy protections.
Lawful interception is the collection of information from communications networks by a person or agency with the legal authority to collect that data. A court order may be required to provide lawful authority to intercept private data, although the order may be sealed to prevent the subject of the order from learning about it. This technique is part of a library of options available to law enforcement agencies to identify and address criminal activity and gather information to pursue court cases.
A wide variety of communications can be lawfully collected with lawful interception techniques, including phone calls, emails, Internet traffic logs, and so on. Communications systems can be designed with support for lawful interception to facilitate data collection, and some companies that develop and use such systems voluntarily comply with law enforcement, allowing officials access to data upon request rather than with a court order.
The ethics of lawful wiretapping is a matter of debate. Proponents argue that access to communications provides law enforcement evidence useful for criminal cases and can also be useful for intelligence gathering. Intercepting communications can allow individuals to identify and act on terrorist plans and other security threats, as well as help agencies track down information leaks and compromises to privacy and security. The ability to keep lawful interceptions confidential is also considered an important component of such programs, as it allows individuals to listen in to communications without alerting the subject.
Privacy advocates are concerned about legal wiretapping. Some believe that people can expect a reasonable right to privacy in telecommunications and that subjects of warrants should be educated about warrants and their scope. Others are concerned about voluntary compliance by telecom companies and the potential risks it may pose for people such as political dissidents and activists. These individuals are not breaking the law, but they may become targets for law enforcement investigations.
Many nations have laws regarding lawful interception and these laws have been adapted to address changes in the telecommunications industry and the technology used for telecommunications. The widespread advent of telephone communications, for example, has required changes in data interception methods and practices. Some of these laws also address privacy concerns, by tightening standards for court warrants and orders, and by requiring the handling and secure storage of any information collected to preserve as much privacy as possible for subjects of lawful eavesdropping operations.
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