NOTE FROM FIPR DOMAIN: Most of the links in this document have been changed for archiving purposes. If confusion or dead links occur, follow this table of contents:

  1. Part I
  2. Part II
  3. Part III
  4. Part IV
  5. Schedules

Promoting Electronic Commerce

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A

B I L L

TO

 

Make provision to facilitate the use of electronic communications
and electronic data storage; to confer powers to require the
disclosure of data needed to obtain access to electronic
information or to make it intelligible; to make provision about the
modification of licences granted under section 7 of the
Telecommunications Act 1984; and for connected purposes.

 

 

B E IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with
the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and
Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, as follows:—

PART I

CRYPTOGRAPHY SERVICE PROVIDERS

1.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to establish and
maintain a register of approved providers of cryptography support services.

(2) The Secretary of State shall secure that the register contains particulars
of every person who is for the time being approved under any arrangements in
force under section 2.

(3) The particulars that must be recorded in every entry in the register
relating to an approved person are—

(a) the name and address of that person;

(b) the services in respect of which that person is approved; and

(c) the conditions of the approval.

(4) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to ensure that such
arrangements are in force as he considers appropriate for—

(a) allowing members of the public to inspect the contents of the
register; and

(b) securing that such publicity is given to any withdrawal or
modification of an approval as will bring it to the attention of
persons likely to be interested in it.

 

 

 

A.D. 1999.
Register of
approved
providers. [j101]

2.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to secure that there are
arrangements in force for granting approvals to persons who—

(a) are or are proposing to provide cryptography support services in the United Kingdom; and

(b) seek approval in respect of any such services that they are providing, or are proposing to provide, whether in the United Kingdom or
elsewhere.

(2) The arrangements must—

(a) allow for an approval to be granted either in respect of all the
services in respect of which it is sought or in respect of only some of
them;

(b) ensure that an approval is granted to a person in respect of any services only if subsection (3) applies in that person’s case;

(c) provide for an approval granted to any person to have effect subject to such conditions (whether or not connected with the provision of the
services in respect of which the approval is granted) as may be
contained in the approval;

(d) enable a person to whom the Secretary of State is proposing to grant
an approval to refuse it if the proposal is in different terms from the
approval which was sought;

(e) make provision for the handling of complaints and disputes which—

(i) fall to be dealt with in accordance with a procedure
maintained by an approved person in accordance with the
conditions of his approval; but

(ii) have failed to be disposed of by the application of that
procedure;

(f) provide for the modification and withdrawal of approvals.

(3) This subsection applies in a person’s case if the Secretary of State is
satisfied that that person—

(a) will comply, in providing the services in respect of which he is
approved, with such technical and other requirements as may be
prescribed;

(b) is a person in relation to whom such other requirements as may be
prescribed are, and will continue to be, satisfied;

(c) is, and will continue to be, able and willing to comply with any
requirements that the Secretary of State is proposing to impose by
means of conditions of the approval; and

(d) is otherwise a fit and proper person to be approved in respect of
those services.

(4) Regulations made by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3)
may frame a requirement for the purposes of that subsection by reference to
the opinion of a person specified in the regulations, or of a person chosen in a
manner determined in accordance with the regulations.

(5) The requirements that may be imposed by conditions contained in an
approval in accordance with the arrangements include—

(a) requirements to provide information to such persons, in such form, at
such times and in response to such requests as may be specified in or
determined under the terms of the condition;

(b) requirements that impose obligations that will continue or recur
notwithstanding the withdrawal (in whole or in part) of the
approval;

(c) requirements framed by reference to the opinion or directions of a
person specified in or chosen in accordance with provision
contained in the conditions.

(6) Any requirement to provide information that is imposed in accordance
with the arrangements on any person by the conditions of his approval shall
be enforceable at the suit or instance of the Secretary of State.

(7) Where any arrangements under this section so provide, a person
who—

(a) seeks an approval under the arrangements,

(b) applies for a modification of such an approval,

(c) is for the time being approved under the arrangements, or

(d) has his approval under the arrangements modified wholly or partly in
consequence of an application made by him,

shall pay to the Secretary of State, at such time or times as may be
prescribed, such fee or fees as may be prescribed in relation to that time or
those times.

(8) Sums received by the Secretary of State by virtue of subsection (7)
shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

 

Arrangements for
the grant of
approvals. [j101a]

3.—(1) The Secretary of State may appoint any person to carry out, in his
place, such of his functions under the preceding provisions of this Part (other
than any power of his to make regulations) as may be specified in the
appointment.

(2) An appointment under this section—

(a) shall have effect only to such extent, and subject to such conditions,
as may be set out in the appointment; and

(b) may be revoked or varied at any time by a notice given by the
Secretary of State to the appointed person.

(3) A person appointed under this section shall, in the carrying out of the
functions specified in his appointment, comply with all such general
directions as may be given to him from time to time by the Secretary of
State.

(4) Subject to any order under subsection (5) and to any directions given
by the Secretary of State, where a body established by or under any
enactment or the holder of any office created by or under any enactment is
appointed to carry out any functions of the Secretary of State under this
Part—

(a) the enactments relating to the functions of that body or office shall
have effect as if the functions of that body or office included the
functions specified in the appointment; and

(b) the body or office-holder shall be taken to have power to do anything
which is calculated to facilitate, or is incidental or conducive to, the
carrying out of the functions so specified.

 

(5) The Secretary of State may, by order made by statutory instrument,
provide for enactments relating to any such body or office as is mentioned in
subsection (4) to have effect, so far as appears to him appropriate for
purposes connected with the carrying out of functions that have been or may
be conferred on the body or office-holder under this section, with such
modifications as may be provided for in the order.

(6) An order shall not be made under subsection (5) unless a draft of it has
first been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.

(7) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to secure—

(a) that any appointment made under this section is published in such
manner as he considers best calculated to bring it to the attention of
persons likely to be interested in it;

(b) that any variation or revocation of such an appointment is also so
published; and

(c) that the time fixed for any notice varying or revoking such an
appointment to take effect allows what appears to him to be a
reasonable period after the giving of the notice for the making of
any necessary incidental or transitional arrangements.

(8) Nothing in this section, or in anything done under this section, shall
prejudice—

(a) any power of the Secretary of State, apart from this Act, to exercise
functions through a Minister or official in his department;

(b) any power of any person by virtue of subsection (4), or by virtue of an
order under subsection (5), to act on behalf of a body or office-holder
in connection with the carrying out of any function;

(c) any provision by virtue of section 2(4) or (5)(c) that imposes a
requirement by reference to the opinion of any person or
determines the manner of choosing a person whose opinion is to be
referred to.

 

Delegation of
approval
functions. [j106]

4.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, no information
which—

(a) has been obtained under or by virtue of the provisions of this Part, 
and

(b) relates to the private affairs of any individual or to any particular
business,

shall, during the lifetime of that individual or so long as that business
continues to be carried on, be disclosed without the consent of that
individual or the person for the time being carrying on that business.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any disclosure of information which is
made—

(a) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out of any functions under
this Part, or any prescribed functions, of the Secretary of State or a
person appointed under section 3;

(b) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out of any functions of a
local weights and measures authority in Great Britain;

(c) for the purpose of facilitating the carrying out of prescribed functions
of any prescribed person;

(d) in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for
the purposes of any criminal proceedings;

(e) for the purposes of any civil proceedings which—

(i) relate to the provision of cryptography support services;
and

(ii) are proceedings to which a person approved in accordance
with arrangements under section 2 is a party;

(f) for the purposes of any proceedings before the Tribunal established
under section 18; or

(g) in pursuance of a Community obligation.

(3) In subsection (2)(a) the reference to functions under this Part does not
include a reference to any power of the Secretary of State to make
regulations.

(4) If information is disclosed to the public in circumstances in which the
disclosure does not contravene this section, this section shall not prevent its
further disclosure by any person.

(5) Any person who discloses any information in contravention of this
section shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory
maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding two years or a fine, or to both.

 

Restrictions on
disclosure of
information.
[j112]
   

5.—(1) In this Part "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made by
the Secretary of State, or determined in such manner as may be provided for in
any such regulations.

(2) The powers of the Secretary of State to make regulations under this
Part shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in
pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(3) Regulations made by the Secretary of State under any provision of this
Part—

(a) may make different provision for different cases; and

(b) may contain such incidental, supplemental, consequential and
transitional provision as the Secretary of State thinks fit.

6.—(1) In this Part "cryptography support service" means any service
which is provided to the senders or recipients of electronic communications,
or to those storing electronic data, and is designed to facilitate the use of
encryption—

(a) for securing that such communications or data can be accessed, or
can be put into an intelligible form, only by certain persons; or

(b) for securing that the authenticity or integrity of such
communications is capable of being ascertained.

(2) References in this Part to the provision of a cryptography support
service include references to the supply of, or of any right to use, computer
software or computer hardware if, and only if, the supply is intended to be no
more than incidental to the provision by the same person of cryptography
support services not consisting in such a supply.

(3) For the purposes of this Part cryptography support services are
provided in the United Kingdom if—

(a) they are provided from premises in the United Kingdom;

(b) they are provided to a person who is in the United Kingdom when he
makes use of the services; or

(c) they are provided to a person who makes use of the services for the
purposes of a business carried on in the United Kingdom or from
premises in the United Kingdom.

 

Regulations under
Part I. [j109]
Provision of
cryptography
support services.
[j110]

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Archived from DTI site on November 19, 1999.