Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (c. 25) – Section 173 – Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of data

Sections

Section 173Offence of breaching safeguards relating to examination of data

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a)
the person selects for examination any communications data obtained under a bulk acquisition warrant,
(b)
the person knows or believes that the selection of that data for examination does not comply with a requirement imposed by section 172, and
(c)
the person deliberately selects that data for examination in breach of that requirement.

(2) 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 [^F1the general limit in a magistrates’ court] (or 6 months, if the offence was committed before [^F22 May 2022]), 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.

(3) No proceedings for any offence which is an offence by virtue of this section may be instituted—

(a)
in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions;
(b)
in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

Amended text

This Section is shown as amended by S.I. 2022/500; S.I. 2023/149 (see the annotations below), as incorporated in the text in force on 7 October 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.

Annotations

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 173(2)(a)(i) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1
F2 Words in s. 173(2)(a)(i) substituted (28.4.2022) by The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 33) and Sentencing Act 2020 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/500), regs. 1(2), 5(1), Sch. Pt. 1

Commencement Information

I1 S. 173 in force at 22.8.2018 by S.I. 2018/873, reg. 3(b) (with reg. 7)

https://ipa.digiphile.law/article/article-173.html

Text as at 7 October 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in October 2026.