{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/investigatory-powers-act-2016/section-198",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/investigatory-powers-act-2016/section-198.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2016/25",
  "legislation_title": "Investigatory Powers Act 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/investigatory-powers-act-2016",
  "path": "section/198",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "198",
  "heading": "Chapter 3: interpretation",
  "text": "(1) In this Chapter—\n“communication” includes—\n(a)anything comprising speech, music, sounds, visual images or data of any description, and\n(b)signals serving either for the impartation of anything between persons, between a person and a thing or between things or for the actuation or control of any apparatus;\n“equipment” means equipment producing electromagnetic, acoustic or other emissions or any device capable of being used in connection with such equipment;\n“equipment data” has the meaning given by section 177;\n“private information” includes information relating to a person's private or family life;\n“protected material”, in relation to a bulk equipment interference warrant, has the meaning given by section 193(9);\n“senior official” means a member of the Senior Civil Service or a member of the Senior Management Structure of Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service;\n“the specified operational purposes” has the meaning given by section 183(12).\n(2) See also—\nsection 261 (telecommunications definitions);\nsection 263 (general definitions);\nsection 264 (general definitions: “journalistic material” etc.);\nsection 265 (index of defined expressions).",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 198 in force at 31.5.2018 by S.I. 2018/652, reg. 5(s)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/25/section/198",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:06:02.282680+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}