The provisions of the act included the following: Section 94 of the act provided a very broad power of government regulation of telecommunications in the interests of national security or relations with foreign governments.

It allowed any Secretary of State to give secret directions to Ofcom or any providers of public electronic communications networks.

In reply to a parliamentary question, the security minister James Brokenshire replied: “If the question relates to section 94 of the Telecommunications Act, then I am afraid I can neither confirm nor deny any issues in relation to the utilisation or otherwise of section 94.” The Interception of Communications Commissioner was asked in 2015 by prime minister David Cameron to oversee section 94 directions, but was unable to do so because "there does not appear to be a comprehensive central record of the directions that have been issued by the various Secretaries of State."

[5] Subsequently, on 4 November 2015, the Home Secretary announced that after the September 11 attacks in the U.S., MI5 started collecting bulk telephone communications data on which telephone numbers called each other and when, under a section 94 direction instead of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which would have brought independent oversight and regulation.

This had been kept secret until announced in 2015, without laying the direction before parliament under the against the interests of national security exemption.