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As a legally sanctioned official access to private communications, Lawful Interception is a security process in which a service provider or network operator collects and provides law enforcement officials with intercepted communications of private individuals or organizations.

Lawful Interception (LI) implementation is required by the European Union International User Requirements 19951 which allows for LI to prevent crime, including fraud and terrorism.

The ETSI specifications are now in use in other countries that require the Lawful Interception of telecommunications.

1. Official Journal C 329. 04/11/1996 p. 0001 - 0006 Council Resolution of 17 January 1995 on the lawful interception of telecommunications

ETSI technical committee Lawful Interception (LI) covers the whole spectrum of interception aspects working closely with other ETSI committees and with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP™).

At the core of an ALL IP NGN network is the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) which provides an access independent platform for a variety of access technologies. IMS is being developed in 3GPPs Service and System Aspects Group. with the handover interface for lawful interception being developed in LI.

In 2006 the Terms of Reference of LI were extended to include work on Retained Data and the committee has started work on two relevant specifications: one on requirements and a second on the Retained Data Handover Interface.

A major achievement of ETSI work in this area has been publication of the specifications for the handover procedure: TS 101 671 and ES 201 671. These specifications illustrate the flow that the intercepted data should follow in telecommunication networks or services. Among other activities, ETSI LI is currently working on Retained Data, producing two specifications:

Requirements of Law Enforcement Agencies for handling of Retained Data (details here )