Part 2: Lawful interception of communications Chapter 2: Other forms of lawful interception Section 45: Interception by providers of postal or telecommunications services
This section authorises interception where it takes place for the purpose of providing or operating a postal service or telecommunications service, of enforcing any enactment relating to the use of such a service, or of the provision of services aimed at restricting access to the content of communications. For example, a postal provider may need to open a postal item to determine the address of the sender because the recipient’s address is unknown. A further example is where a telecommunications operator is delivering a service to its customers and the customer has requested that harmful, illegal or adult content is filtered (e.g. family friendly filtering).
	Subsection (3) makes clear that a telecommunications operator can undertake activity to protect the telecommunication system through which their service is provided and any apparatus attached to that system, to maintain the integrity of their services and to ensure the security of their customers.