Law Enforcement and Government Requests Policy

Version: 1.0

Effective date: 24 July 2026

Last updated: 24 July 2026

This policy describes how hionet handles demands from law-enforcement agencies, regulators, courts and other government authorities for customer information or action. It does not create rights beyond applicable law or restrict emergency disclosures lawfully necessary to protect life.

1. Submission

Requests should be sent to [email protected] with subject "Government request" and, where formal service is required, served on:

Ionut-Laurentiu Hurmuz trading as hionet
Flat 1, The Granaries
Bepton Road
Midhurst
GU29 9LU
United Kingdom

Telephone enquiries do not replace valid legal service. hionet does not operate a separate authorities portal.

Requests should include:

  • agency, officer, official contact details and authority;

  • legal basis, jurisdiction and a copy of the signed order, warrant, notice or other process;

  • specific account identifiers and a narrow description of data or action sought;

  • relevant date range and return deadline;

  • confidentiality or non-disclosure basis; and

  • for emergencies, facts showing an imminent risk of death or serious physical harm and why ordinary process is insufficient.

2. Review standards

We verify apparent authenticity, authority, jurisdiction, scope and legal validity. We may seek clarification, legal advice, formal process, narrowing or preservation rather than immediate disclosure. We do not provide unrestricted system access or voluntarily create data we do not hold.

Where there are reasonable grounds, we may challenge a request that appears unlawful, overbroad, disproportionate or inconsistent with applicable data-protection and human-rights requirements. We disclose only information we reasonably believe is legally required or lawfully necessary for an emergency.

Foreign authorities should normally use an applicable mutual legal assistance, recognition or other lawful cross-border route where direct compulsion is unavailable. A request valid abroad is not automatically valid against a UK sole trader.

3. Customer notice

Unless prohibited by law or likely to create a material risk of harm, evidence destruction or investigation prejudice, we will try to notify the affected customer before disclosure and provide enough information to seek advice. If notice is temporarily prohibited, we may notify after the restriction expires or is lifted.

We may ask an authority to identify the specific legal basis and duration for non-disclosure and to permit notice of non-sensitive parts. We do not promise notice where prohibited or impracticable in a genuine emergency.

4. Preservation

We may preserve specified records in response to a valid request or where reasonably necessary in anticipation of lawful process. Preservation does not itself authorise disclosure. Requests must identify the account and period. Preserved data is isolated as reasonably practicable and deleted when legal retention ends, subject to other lawful grounds.

Because hionet provides no customer-content backup service, deleted or overwritten data may not be recoverable. We cannot preserve data we no longer hold.

5. Emergencies

We may voluntarily disclose limited data where we reasonably and in good faith believe it is necessary and lawful to prevent imminent death or serious physical harm. Emergency requests receive case-specific review and should explain the threat, immediacy, requested data and connection to preventing harm. Abuse of emergency procedures may be reported.

6. Costs and production

We may seek reimbursement of reasonable legally recoverable costs and use secure production methods. Records may include an authenticity declaration where appropriate. We do not provide expert interpretation unless required and properly arranged.

7. Statistics and privacy

hionet does not currently publish a separate transparency report. We may publish aggregated information in the future where lawful and operationally feasible. Government-request data is handled under the Privacy Notice, and customer processor data under the Data Processing Addendum.

Nothing here prevents hionet from reporting suspected crime, abuse or threats on its own initiative where lawful and proportionate.