Part 1General privacy protections
Prohibition against unlawful obtaining of communications data
11Offence of unlawfully obtaining communications data
(1)
A relevant person who, without lawful authority, knowingly or recklessly obtains communications data from a telecommunications operator or a postal operator is guilty of an offence.
(2)
In this section “relevant person” means a person who holds an office, rank or position with a relevant public authority (within the meaning of Part 3).
(3)
Subsection (1) does not apply to a relevant person who shows that the person acted in the reasonable belief that the person had lawful authority to obtain the communications data.
(4)
A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a)
on summary conviction in England and Wales—
(i)
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months (or 6 months, if the offence was committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003), or
(ii)
to a fine,
or to both;
(b)
on summary conviction in Scotland—
(i)
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or
(ii)
to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(c)
on summary conviction in Northern Ireland—
(i)
to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or
(ii)
to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,
or to both;
(d)
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or to both.