BIG BROTHER WATCH AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT two stages: first, the initial application of a set of “processing rules” designed to discard material least likely to be of value; and secondly, the application of complex queries to the selected material in order to draw out those likely to be of the highest intelligence value. Those searches generated an index, and only items on that index could be examined by analysts. All communications which were not on the index had to be discarded. 19. The legal framework for bulk interception in force at the relevant time is set out in detail in the “relevant domestic law” section below. In brief, section 8(4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (“RIPA” – see paragraph 72 below) allowed the Secretary of State to issue warrants for the “interception of external communications”, and pursuant to section 16 of RIPA (see paragraphs 84-92 below) intercepted material could not be selected to be read, looked at or listened to, “according to a factor which is referable to an individual who is known to be for the time being in the British Islands”. 2. Intelligence sharing 20. Chapter 12 of the Interception of Communications Code of Practice (“the IC Code” – see paragraph 116 below) set out the circumstances in which the United Kingdom intelligence services could request intelligence from foreign intelligence services, and the procedures which had to be followed for making such a request. Chapter 12 was added to the IC Code after the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (“the IPT”) ordered the intelligence services to disclose their arrangements for intelligence sharing in the course of the proceedings brought by the applicants in the third of the joined cases (“the Liberty proceedings” – see paragraphs 28-60 below). 3. Acquisition of communications data from CSPs 21. Chapter II of RIPA and the accompanying Acquisition of Communications Data Code of Practice governed the process by which certain public authorities could request communications data from CSPs (see paragraphs 117-121 below). B. The United States 22. The National Security Agency (“NSA”) acknowledged the existence of two operations called PRISM and Upstream. 1. PRISM 23. PRISM was a programme through which the United States’ Government obtained intelligence material (such as communications) from Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”). Access under PRISM was specific and targeted (as opposed to a broad “data mining” capability). The United 5