GOVERNMENT HAS GIVEN the greenlight to plans to beef up legislation around covert surveillance and communication interception. 

Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the updating of laws that deals with serious crime and security threats is “long overdue”.

The Communications (Interception and Lawful Access) Bill will update and replace the Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act, which dates back to 1993.

The new legislation will include a new legal basis for the use of covert surveillance software and will also provide for the use of electronic scanning equipment which can locate and record identifier data from mobile devices.

The minister said there will be robust legal safeguards, including judicial authorisation of interception requests, to provide assurance that the legislation is applied appropriately.

O’Callaghan said the legislation is needed to ensure that the law in this area is up-to-date and can yield intelligence that is vital for dealing with serious criminality and threats to the security of the State.

“My first responsibility as Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration is to ensure the safety and security of the people and the State,” he said, stating that the new laws will update the outdated legislation which predates the telecoms revolution of the last 20 years.

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The minister said the updating of the legislation is needed to replace it with a modern legal framework that encompasses all forms of digital communications now in use.

The new legislation will allow for lawful interception powers to be applied to any digital devices or services which can send or receive a communications message such as emails or digital messaging services, whether encrypted or not.

It will be used to obtain content data or metadata such as data about a communication such as phone call or email time and date, the sender/receiver of a communication, the geolocation of an electronic device or the source and destination IP address).

Access to electronic devices

It will also provide a new legal basis for the use of covert surveillance software to gain access to electronic devices and networks for the investigation of serious crime and threats to the security of the State.

“This legislation is long overdue. There have been significant changes in the digital communications landscape in the last two decades that existing legislation does not comprehend,” he said.

Officials in the Department of Justice will now work with the Attorney General’s Office, other Departments and State agencies to develop the General Scheme of the new legislation which will be published this year.

At present, the Minister for Justice has responsibility for authorising interception requests under the 1993 Act.

It is proposed that the General Scheme will maintain a role for the minister but will also introduce judicial authorisation of interception requests for the first time.

In addition, it is proposed that agencies making an application under the new legislation will be under an explicit statutory obligation to outline any issues that may arise with regard to privileged material.

Spyware and surveillance

Olga Cronin, Surveillance and Human Rights Senior Policy Officer at the Irish Council of Civil Liberties said she has very serious concerns about the “shopping list of surveillance powers”.

Cronin said on the face of it, the minister wants to give An Garda Síochána profoundly intrusive powers.

She said the powers seemingly include the use of spyware, which can be secretly installed to gather information on individuals or organisations without their knowledge as well as  technology that can be used to locate and track all mobile phones that are switched on or off within a certain area.

Cronin also raised concerns over proposals to to intercept or infiltrate “people’s internet of things, which could technically include a person’s smart watch and home devices like smart speakers (such as an Amazon Echo or Google Nest) and doorbells”.

She said the surveillance tools and powers are an extraordinary reach, with sweeping implications for people’s rights and freedoms.