Internet Connection Records (ICR)

The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 defines an internet connection record as communications data which may be used to identify, or assist in identifying, a telecommunications service to which a communication is transmitted for the purpose of obtaining access to, or running, a computer file or computer program, and which comprises data generated or processed by a telecommunications operator in the process of supplying that service to the sender.

The Act places specific restrictions, beyond the general communications data authorisation rules, on public authorities obtaining internet connection records. Local authorities cannot obtain authorisation to access data that is, or can only be obtained by processing, an internet connection record at all; other relevant public authorities can only do so where specified statutory conditions are met.

In practice, an internet connection record shows which internet-based service a device connected to and when, functioning as an equivalent to an itemised phone bill for internet use, but it does not on its own reveal which specific web pages within that service were visited or what content was viewed — that distinction, between identifying the service accessed and the detail of what was done on it, is central to how the Act restricts ICR access compared with other forms of communications data.