24Duty to assist

1. A surveillance agency to whom an interception warrant is issued, or any other lawful interception authority is granted, may, for the purpose of requiring assistance in the execution of the warrant or lawful authority, show to either or both of the persons referred to in subsection (2),—

2. in the case of an interception warrant issued to an intelligence and security agency, a copy of the relevant parts of the warrant; or
3. in any other case, a copy of the warrant or evidence of lawful authority.

4. The persons are—

5. a network operator; or
6. a service provider.

7. A person who is shown under subsection (1) a copy of an interception warrant or the relevant parts of the warrant, or evidence of any other lawful interception authority, must assist the surveillance agency by—

8. making available any of the person's officers, employees, or agents who are able to provide any reasonable technical assistance that may be necessary for the agency to intercept a telecommunication or otherwise give effect to the warrant or lawful authority; and
9. taking all other reasonable steps that are necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the warrant or lawful authority, which may include, but are not limited to, assistance to—
   1. identify and intercept telecommunications without intercepting telecommunications that are not authorised to be intercepted under the warrant or lawful authority; and
   2. obtain traffic data relating to telecommunications (other than telecommunications that are not authorised to be intercepted under the warrant or lawful authority); and
   3. obtain traffic data and the content of telecommunications (other than telecommunications that are not authorised to be intercepted under the warrant or lawful authority) in a useable format; and
   4. carry out the interception of telecommunications unobtrusively, without unduly interfering with any telecommunications, and in a manner that protects the privacy of telecommunications that are not authorised to be intercepted under the warrant or lawful authority; and
   5. undertake the actions referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iv) efficiently and effectively and,—
      1. if it is reasonably achievable, at the time of transmission of the telecommunication; or
      2. if it is not reasonably achievable, as close as practicable to that time; and
   6. decrypt telecommunications where the person has provided the encryption.

10. Subsection (3)(b)(vi) does not require the person to—

11. decrypt any telecommunication on that person's public telecommunications network or telecommunications service if the encryption has been provided by means of a product that is—
    1. supplied by the person as an agent for that product; or
    2. supplied by another person and is available to the public; and
12. ensure that a surveillance agency has the ability to decrypt any telecommunication.

13. A network operator or service provider must consult with the surveillance agency executing the warrant or lawful authority, regarding the most efficient way to undertake the decryption referred to in subsection (3)(b)(vi).

14. For the purposes of this section, a network operator may intercept a telecommunication on behalf of a surveillance agency.

15. In subsection (3)(b)(iii), useable format means—

16. the format determined by a notice issued under section 42; or
17. a format that is acceptable to—
    1. the network operator or service provider; and
    2. the surveillance agency executing the warrant or lawful authority.

18. Nothing in this section affects the application of the common law defence of foreign state compulsion to a service provider outside New Zealand.