Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Encyclopedia
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c.23) (RIP or RIPA) is an Act
of the Parliament
of the United Kingdom
, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications
. It was introduced to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet
and strong encryption
.
RIPA can be invoked by government officials specified in the Act on the grounds of national security, and for the purposes of detecting crime, preventing disorder, public safety, protecting public health, or in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 9 February 2000 and completed its Parliamentary passage on 26 July.
Although RIPA originally listed public authorities such as local councils for some kinds of covert surveillance, in September 2003 Home Secretary
David Blunkett
announced additions to the list of those entitled to access certain types of communications data collected under RIPA in what civil rights
and privacy
campaigners dubbed a "snoopers' charter". Following a public consultation and Parliamentary debate, however, Parliament approved the new additions in December 2003, April 2005, July 2006 and February 2010.
, internet crime and paedophilia
were used to push the act through and that there was little substantive debate in the House of Commons
. The act has numerous critics, many of whom regard the RIPA regulations as excessive and a threat to civil liberties
in the UK. Campaign group Big Brother Watch
published a report in 2010 investigating the improper use of RIPA by local councils. Critics such as Keith Vaz
, the chairman of the House of Commons home affairs committee, have expressed concern that the act is being abused for "petty and vindictive" cases. Similarly, Brian Binley
, MP
for Northampton South
has urged councils to stop using the law, accusing them of acting like comic strip
detective Dick Tracy
.
In April 2008, it became known that council officials in Dorset
put three children and their parents under surveillance, governed by RIPA, at home and in their daily movements to check whether they lived in a particular school catchment area. Council officials carried out directed surveillance on the family a total of 21 times. This was in the context of rules which allow people who live in the school catchment area to enjoy advantages in obtaining a place at a popular school. The same council put fishermen under covert surveillance to check for the illegal harvesting of cockles and clams in ways that are regulated by RIPA. Other councils in the UK have conducted undercover operations regulated by RIPA against dog fouling
and fly-tipping
. Despite claims in the press that local councils are conducting over a thousand RIPA-based covert surveillance operations every month for petty offences such as under-age smoking and breaches of planning regulations, the Office of Surveillance Commissioners' last report shows that public bodies granted 8,477 requests for Directed Surveillance, down over 1,400 on the previous year. Less than half of those were granted by Local Authorities, and the commissioner reported that, "Generally speaking, local authorities use their powers sparingly with over half of them granting five or fewer authorisations for directed surveillance. Some sixteen per cent granted none at all." David Smith, deputy commissioner at the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) has stated that he is concerned about the surveillance which has taken place in Poole
. In June 2008, the chairman of the Local Government Association
, Sir Simon Milton
, sent out a letter to the leaders of every council in England, urging local governments not to use the new powers granted by RIPA "for trivial matters", and suggested "reviewing these powers annually by an appropriate scrutiny committee".
Especially contentious was Part III of the Act, which requires persons to supply decrypted information
(which had been previously encrypted by the owner) and/or the cryptographic key to government representatives. Failure to disclose these items is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail. Using the mechanism of secondary legislation, some parts of the Act required activation by a ministerial order before attaining legal force. Such orders have been made in respect of the relevant sections of Part I and Part II of the RIP Act and Part III. The latter became active in October 2007. The first case where the powers were used was against animal rights
activists in November 2007. In August 2009 it was announced that two people had been prosecuted and convicted for refusing to provide British authorities with their encryption keys. Later that year the first person convicted under RIPA legislation was sentenced to a term of 13 months' imprisonment.
It has been suggested that the "deniable encryption
" features in free software
such as FreeOTFE
, TrueCrypt
and BestCrypt
will make the task of investigations featuring RIPA much more difficult.
Critics claim that the provisions of Part III are too complex, and possibly unworkable, and that this might be a reason for government reluctance to activate this part of the legislation. Another possibility is that the government wishes to have the powers in reserve, such that if they were deemed necessary they could be implemented more quickly and easily than if new primary legislation
were required. Another possibility is that relevant government agencies might reasonably believe that it is easier to use pre-existing judicial procedures to compel production of evidence rather than the more cumbersome and difficult procedures that ultimately found their way into Part III.
Another objection is that the Act requires sufficiently large UK Internet Service Provider
s to install technical systems to assist law enforcement agencies with interception activity. Although this equipment must be installed at the ISPs' expense, RIPA does provide that Parliament will examine appropriate funding for ISPs if the cost burden became unfairly high.
Cliff Stanford
, and George Nelson Liddell pleaded guilty to offences under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in 2005. They were found to have intercepted emails at the company Redbus Interhouse. Stanford was sentenced to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years, and fined £20,000. It was alleged Stanford had intercepted emails between Dame Shirley Porter and John Porter (Chairman of Redbus Interhouse).
In 2007, News of the World
royal editor Clive Goodman
was sentenced to four months in jail for intercepting the voicemail
of members of the Royal Family. His associate Glenn Mulcaire
received a six-month sentence.
In 2007, Operation Barbatus exposed a sophisticated criminal surveillance business organised by corrupt police officers. A former Metropolitan Police officer, Jeremy Young, was jailed for 27 months for various offences including six counts of conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. A second former policeman, Scott Gelsthorpe, was sentenced to 24 months for offences including conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. 3 other former police officers and a private detective were also jailed for their part in running a private detective agency called Active Investigation Services.
In 2008, four people were cautioned for 'Unlawful intercepting of a postal, public or private telecommunications scheme', under S.1(1), (2) & (7). The circumstances of the offences are not known at the time of writing. Three people were tried for 'Failure to disclose key to protected information' under S.53 (of which 2 were tried). One person was tried for 'Disclosing details of Section 49 Notice' under S.54.
The first person jailed under RIPA Part III, for not giving police access to encrypted material, was a schizophrenic
man who was later judged to be no threat to national security. He said he was refusing to provide keys on principle, on the basis that he should have a right to silence
. He was jailed for 9 months for refusing to hand over his decryption keys, or otherwise decrypt the data, and was later moved to a secure mental hospital part way through his sentence. Notably, the encrypted material in question was not suspected of securing illegal material.
In a 2010 case, Oliver Drage, a 19 year old takeaway worker being investigated as part of a police investigation into a child exploitation network, was sentenced, at Preston Crown Court, to four months imprisonment. Mr Drage was arrested in May 2009, after investigating officers searched his home near Blackpool. He had been required, under this act, to provide his 50-character encryption key but had not complied.
In a further case in 2010 Poole Borough Council was accused of spying unfairly on a family. Although the Council invoked powers under RIPA to establish whether a family fell into a certain school catchment area, when taken before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal
it was found guilty of improper use of surveillance powers.
Between 2000 and 2009 the Tribunal has only upheld 4 out of 956 complaints.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
. It was introduced to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and strong encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
.
RIPA can be invoked by government officials specified in the Act on the grounds of national security, and for the purposes of detecting crime, preventing disorder, public safety, protecting public health, or in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 9 February 2000 and completed its Parliamentary passage on 26 July.
Although RIPA originally listed public authorities such as local councils for some kinds of covert surveillance, in September 2003 Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
announced additions to the list of those entitled to access certain types of communications data collected under RIPA in what civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and privacy
Privacy
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively...
campaigners dubbed a "snoopers' charter". Following a public consultation and Parliamentary debate, however, Parliament approved the new additions in December 2003, April 2005, July 2006 and February 2010.
Summary
RIPA regulates the manner in which certain public bodies may conduct surveillance and access a person's electronic communications. The Act:- enables certain public bodies to demand that an ISP provide access to a customer's communications in secret;
- enables mass surveillance of communications in transit;
- enables certain public bodies to demand ISPs fit equipment to facilitate surveillance;
- enables certain public bodies to demand that someone hand over keys to protected informationKey disclosure lawKey disclosure laws, also known as mandatory key disclosure, is legislation that require individuals to surrender cryptographic keys to law enforcement. The purpose is to allow access to material for confiscation or digital forensics purposes and use it either as evidence in a court of law or to...
; - allows certain public bodies to monitor people's internet activities;
- prevents the existence of interception warrants and any data collected with them from being revealed in court.
Powers
| Type | Typical use | Reasons for use | Type of public authority permitted to use | Level of authorisation required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interception of a communication | Wire taps Telephone tapping Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line... and reading post Postal censorship Postal censorship is the inspection or examination of mail, most often by governments. It can include opening, reading and total or selective obliteration of letters and their contents, as well as covers, postcards, parcels and other postal packets. Postal censorship takes place primarily but not... |
In the interests of national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime and for the purpose of safeguarding the economic well-being of the United Kingdom | Defence Intelligence, GCHQ, HM Revenue and Customs, Secret Intelligence Service Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence... , Security Service MI5 The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence... and territorial police forces of Scotland |
Warrant from Home Secretary or Cabinet Secretary for Justice |
| Use of communications data | Information about a communication, but not the content of that communication (phone numbers, subscriber details) | In the interests of national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder, in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom, in the interests of public safety, for the purpose of protecting public health, for the purpose of assessing or collecting any tax, duty, levy or other imposition, contribution or charge payable to a government department and for the purpose, in an emergency, of preventing death or injury or any damage to a person’s physical or mental health, or of mitigating any injury or damage to a person’s physical or mental health. | As listed below | Senior member of that authority |
| Directed surveillance | Following people | In the interests of national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder, in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom, in the interests of public safety, for the purpose of protecting public health and for the purpose of assessing or collecting any tax, duty, levy or other imposition, contribution or charge payable to a government department. | As listed below | Senior member of that authority |
| Covert human intelligence sources | Informers | In the interests of national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder, in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom, in the interests of public safety, for the purpose of protecting public health and for the purpose of assessing or collecting any tax, duty, levy or other imposition, contribution or charge payable to a government department. | As listed below | Senior member of that authority |
| Intrusive surveillance | Bugging houses/vehicles | In the interests of national security, for the purpose of preventing or detecting serious crime and in the interests of the economic well-being of the United Kingdom. | GCHQ, Secret Intelligence Service, Security Service, Ministry of Defence, armed forces, Her Majesty's Prison Service Her Majesty's Prison Service Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales... or Northern Ireland Prison Service Northern Ireland Prison Service The Northern Ireland Prison Service is an executive agency of the Department of Justice, the headquarters of which are in Dundonald House in the Stormont Estate in Belfast.... . The territorial police forces, the Ministry of Defence Police Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service... , the British Transport Police British Transport Police The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services... , the Royal Navy Regulating Branch Royal Navy Regulating Branch The Royal Navy Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Members of the RNP enforce law, discipline, and maintain order as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006.... , Royal Military Police Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as... , Royal Air Force Police Royal Air Force Police The Royal Air Force Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Air Force. It was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service . It is responsible for the policing of all service personnel much like there RN or Army... and HM Revenue and Customs. |
Authorisation from Home Secretary or Cabinet Secretary for Justice Authorisation from the head of the relevant agency: chief constable of any of the territorial police forces, the Ministry of Defence Police Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The force is part of the larger government agency, the Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency , together with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service... or the British Transport Police British Transport Police The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services... , the Provost Marshal Provost Marshal The Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and... s of the Royal Navy Regulating Branch Royal Navy Regulating Branch The Royal Navy Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Members of the RNP enforce law, discipline, and maintain order as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006.... , Royal Military Police Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as... or the Royal Air Force Police Royal Air Force Police The Royal Air Force Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Air Force. It was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service . It is responsible for the policing of all service personnel much like there RN or Army... and any customs officer designated for the purposes by the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs. |
Agencies with investigative powers
Communications data
The type of communications data that can be accessed varies with the reason for its use, and cannot be adequately explained here. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.- Charity CommissionCharity CommissionThe Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
- Criminal Cases Review CommissionCriminal Cases Review CommissionThe Criminal Cases Review Commission is an non-departmental public body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the May Inquiry. It aims to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
- Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service
- a county councilCounty councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county councilCounty councilA county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
or county borough councilCounty boroughCounty borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...
in Wales - Department for TransportDepartment for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, for the purposes of:- Marine Accident Investigation BranchMarine Accident Investigation BranchThe Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...
- Rail Accident Investigation BranchRail Accident Investigation BranchThe Rail Accident Investigation Branch is a government agency that became operational on 17 October 2005. Its primary role is the investigation of rail accidents in the United Kingdom and the Channel Tunnel in order to find a cause, not to lay blame. The agency has operational centres in The...
- Air Accidents Investigation BranchAir Accidents Investigation BranchThe Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. It is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based on the grounds of Farnborough Airport near Aldershot, Rushmoor, Hampshire.-History:...
- Maritime and Coastguard AgencyMaritime and Coastguard AgencyThe Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.This involves coordinating search and rescue at sea through Her Majesty's Coastguard , ensuring that...
- Marine Accident Investigation Branch
- a district council within the meaning of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972The Local Government Act 1972 was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government Act 1971, and abolished the existing local authorities in Northern Ireland.-District...
- Department of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentDepartment of Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentThe Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
for Northern Ireland - Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for Northern IrelandDepartment of Enterprise, Trade and InvestmentThe Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
(for the purposes of Trading Standards) - Department of Health (for the purposes of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory AgencyMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory AgencyThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the UK government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe....
) - Department of Trade and Industry
- Environment AgencyEnvironment AgencyThe Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
- Financial Services AuthorityFinancial Services AuthorityThe Financial Services Authority is a quasi-judicial body responsible for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Its board is appointed by the Treasury and the organisation is structured as a company limited by guarantee and owned by the UK government. Its main...
- a fire and rescue authority
- Fire Authority for Northern Ireland
- Food Standards AgencyFood Standards AgencyThe Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest...
- Gambling CommissionGambling CommissionThe Gambling Commission is Great Britain's regulatory body for most, but not all, gambling.-History:It was established under the Gambling Act 2005 and assumed full powers in 2007, taking over responsibility from the Gaming Board for Great Britain, in regulating arcades, betting, bingo, casinos,...
- Gangmasters Licensing AuthorityGangmasters Licensing AuthorityThe Gangmasters Licensing Authority is an agency in the United Kingdom regulating the supply of workers to the agricultural, horticultural and shellfish industries...
- Government Communications HeadquartersGovernment Communications HeadquartersThe Government Communications Headquarters is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces...
- Health and Safety ExecutiveHealth and Safety ExecutiveThe Health and Safety Executive is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It is the body responsible for the encouragement, regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, and for research into occupational risks in England and Wales and Scotland...
- HM Revenue and Customs
- Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
(for the purposes of the UK Border AgencyUK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
) - Independent Police Complaints CommissionIndependent Police Complaints CommissionThe Independent Police Complaints Commission is a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.-Role:...
- Information CommissionerInformation CommissionerThe role of Information Commissioner differs from nation to nation. Most commonly it is a title given to a government regulator in the fields of freedom of information and the protection of personal data in the widest sense.-Canada:...
- a Joint Board where it is a fire authority
- OfcomOfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
- Office of Fair TradingOffice of Fair TradingThe Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
- The Pensions RegulatorThe Pensions RegulatorThe Pensions Regulator is a non-departmental public body which holds the position of the regulator of work-based pension schemes in the UK. Created under the Pensions Act 2004, the regulator replaced the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority from 6 April 2005and has wider powers and a new...
- Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
- Port of Dover PolicePort of Dover PoliceThe Port of Dover Police is a small non-Home Office police service which provides a 24 hour policing service to the Port of Dover, Kent, England.-Organisation & Role:...
- Port of Liverpool PolicePort of Liverpool PoliceThe Port of Liverpool Police is a small police force with the responsibility of policing the Liverpool, Bootle, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port and Eastham Dock Estates and Freeports, as well as the Manchester Ship Canal areas in the north- west of England....
- Post Office Investigation BranchRoyal MailRoyal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
- Postal Services CommissionPostal Services CommissionThe Postal Services Commission, known as Postcomm, was a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom charged with overseeing the quality and universal service of post in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000 under the Postal Services Act 2000...
- NHS ambulance service Trust
- NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management ServiceNHS Counter Fraud and Security Management ServiceThe Counter Fraud and Security Management Division protects the staff, assets and resources of the National Health Service in England and Wales. Since 1 April 2006 it has been a division of the NHS Business Services Authority, a special health authority of the Department of Health of the United...
- Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Services TrustNorthern Ireland Ambulance ServiceThe Northern Ireland Ambulance Service is the ambulance service that serves the whole of Northern Ireland. As with other ambulance services in the United Kingdom, it does not charge its patients directly for its services, but instead receives funding through general taxation...
- Northern Ireland Health and Social Services Central Services AgencyDepartment of Health, Social Services and Public SafetyThe Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
- Royal Navy Regulating BranchRoyal Navy Regulating BranchThe Royal Navy Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Members of the RNP enforce law, discipline, and maintain order as outlined in the Armed Forces Act 2006....
- Royal Military PoliceRoyal Military PoliceThe Royal Military Police is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK, and whilst service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises.Members of the RMP are generally known as...
- Royal Air Force PoliceRoyal Air Force PoliceThe Royal Air Force Police is the Service Police branch of the Royal Air Force. It was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service . It is responsible for the policing of all service personnel much like there RN or Army...
- Scottish Ambulance Service BoardScottish Ambulance ServiceThe Scottish Ambulance Service is part of NHS Scotland, and serves all of Scotland. It is a Special Health Board funded directly by the Scottish Government Health Department....
- a Scottish councilScottish councilScottish council may refer to:* Scottish Arts Council, a Scottish public body* Scottish council, a form of local government in Scotland* Scottish Council for Development and Industry, a non-governmental, membership organisation which aims to strengthen Scotland’s economic competitiveness* Scottish...
where it is a fire authority - Scottish Environment Protection AgencyScottish Environment Protection AgencyThe Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland’s environmental regulator. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment...
- Secret Intelligence Service
- Security Service
- Serious Fraud OfficeSerious Fraud OfficeThe Serious Fraud Office may refer to:*Serious Fraud Office *Serious Fraud Office...
- the special police forces (including the Scottish Drug Enforcement AgencyScottish Drug Enforcement AgencyThe Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency is a special police force in Scotland responsible for disrupting and dismantling serious organised crime groups; by taking the profit out of such crime and reducing the demand for such products...
) - the territorial police forces
- Welsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustWelsh Ambulance Services NHS TrustThe Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is an NHS trust which manages all ambulance services for the National Health Service in Wales. The trust has its headquarters in H.M. Stanley Hospital, St Asaph, Denbighshire....
Directed surveillance & covert human intelligence sources
The reasons for which the use of directed surveillance & covert human intelligence sources is permitted vary with each authority. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.- the armed forces
- Charity CommissionCharity CommissionThe Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....
- Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection
- a county council or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county council or county borough council in Wales
- Department for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsThe Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...
(for the purposes of the Marine Fisheries AgencyMarine Fisheries AgencyThe Marine and Fisheries Agency was an executive agency of the United Kingdom government that controlled sea fishing in seas around England and Wales. Responsibilities included enforcement of sea fisheries legislation, licensing of UK commercial fishing vessels, sampling of fish catches, management...
) - Department of Health (for the purposes of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory AgencyMedicines and Healthcare products Regulatory AgencyThe Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is the UK government agency which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are acceptably safe....
) - Department of Trade and Industry
- Department for TransportDepartment for TransportIn the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
(for the purposes of transport security, Vehicle and Operator Services AgencyVehicle and Operator Services AgencyVehicle and Operator Services Agency is a non-departmental public body granted Trading Fund status in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Transport of the United Kingdom Government.-History:...
, Driving Standards AgencyDriving Standards AgencyThe Driving Standards Agency is an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport .DSA’s vision is 'Safe Driving for Life'. Its overall mission is to contribute to the public service agreement objective to achieve 40% reduction in riders and drivers killed or seriously injured in road...
and Maritime and Coastguard AgencyMaritime and Coastguard AgencyThe Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.This involves coordinating search and rescue at sea through Her Majesty's Coastguard , ensuring that...
) - Department for Work and PensionsDepartment for Work and PensionsThe Department for Work and Pensions is the largest government department in the United Kingdom, created on June 8, 2001 from the merger of the employment part of the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of Social Security and headed by the Secretary of State for Work and...
- Environment AgencyEnvironment AgencyThe Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
- Financial Services AuthorityFinancial Services AuthorityThe Financial Services Authority is a quasi-judicial body responsible for the regulation of the financial services industry in the United Kingdom. Its board is appointed by the Treasury and the organisation is structured as a company limited by guarantee and owned by the UK government. Its main...
- a fire authorityFire AuthorityIn England and Wales a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a statutory body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service...
- Food Standards AgencyFood Standards AgencyThe Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest...
- Gambling CommissionGambling CommissionThe Gambling Commission is Great Britain's regulatory body for most, but not all, gambling.-History:It was established under the Gambling Act 2005 and assumed full powers in 2007, taking over responsibility from the Gaming Board for Great Britain, in regulating arcades, betting, bingo, casinos,...
- Gangmasters Licensing AuthorityGangmasters Licensing AuthorityThe Gangmasters Licensing Authority is an agency in the United Kingdom regulating the supply of workers to the agricultural, horticultural and shellfish industries...
- Government Communications HeadquartersGovernment Communications HeadquartersThe Government Communications Headquarters is a British intelligence agency responsible for providing signals intelligence and information assurance to the UK government and armed forces...
- Commissioners of Revenue and Customs
- Home OfficeHome OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
(for the purposes of HM Prison Service and the UK Border Agency) - Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
- National Assembly for WalesNational Assembly for WalesThe National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
(for the purposes of the NHS Directorate, NHS Finance Division, Common Agricultural Policy Management Division and Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales) - Northern Ireland OfficeNorthern Ireland OfficeThe Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
(for the purposes of the Northern Ireland Prison Service) - OfcomOfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
- Office of Fair TradingOffice of Fair TradingThe Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...
- Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
- Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
- Postal Services CommissionPostal Services CommissionThe Postal Services Commission, known as Postcomm, was a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom charged with overseeing the quality and universal service of post in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2000 under the Postal Services Act 2000...
- Port of Dover PolicePort of Dover PoliceThe Port of Dover Police is a small non-Home Office police service which provides a 24 hour policing service to the Port of Dover, Kent, England.-Organisation & Role:...
- Port of Liverpool PolicePort of Liverpool PoliceThe Port of Liverpool Police is a small police force with the responsibility of policing the Liverpool, Bootle, Birkenhead, Ellesmere Port and Eastham Dock Estates and Freeports, as well as the Manchester Ship Canal areas in the north- west of England....
- Royal MailRoyal MailRoyal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
- Secret Intelligence ServiceSecret Intelligence ServiceThe Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
- Security ServiceMI5The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
- Serious Fraud OfficeSerious Fraud OfficeThe Serious Fraud Office may refer to:*Serious Fraud Office *Serious Fraud Office...
- a territorial police force or special police force
Directed surveillance
The reasons for which the use of directed surveillance is permitted vary with each authority. Refer to the legislation for more specific information.- Health & Safety Executive
- Information CommissionerInformation CommissionerThe role of Information Commissioner differs from nation to nation. Most commonly it is a title given to a government regulator in the fields of freedom of information and the protection of personal data in the widest sense.-Canada:...
- Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of SchoolsOfstedThe Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England ....
in England (for the purposes of the Complaints, Investigation and Enforcement Team) - General Pharmaceutical CouncilGeneral Pharmaceutical CouncilThe General Pharmaceutical Council is the body responsible for the independent regulation of the pharmacy profession within England, Scotland and Wales, responsible for the regulation of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises...
Controversy
Critics claim that the spectres of terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, internet crime and paedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
were used to push the act through and that there was little substantive debate in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
. The act has numerous critics, many of whom regard the RIPA regulations as excessive and a threat to civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
in the UK. Campaign group Big Brother Watch
Big Brother Watch
Big Brother Watch is a libertarian British pressure group founded in 2009 to "fight injustice and campaigns to protect our civil liberties and personal freedoms"...
published a report in 2010 investigating the improper use of RIPA by local councils. Critics such as Keith Vaz
Keith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
, the chairman of the House of Commons home affairs committee, have expressed concern that the act is being abused for "petty and vindictive" cases. Similarly, Brian Binley
Brian Binley
Brian Arthur Roland Binley is a British Conservative politician, and the Member of Parliament for Northampton South.-Early life:...
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Northampton South
Northampton South (UK Parliament constituency)
Northampton South is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for February 1974 general election when the old constituency of Northampton was split into Northampton North and Northampton South.-Boundary...
has urged councils to stop using the law, accusing them of acting like comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
detective Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
.
In April 2008, it became known that council officials in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
put three children and their parents under surveillance, governed by RIPA, at home and in their daily movements to check whether they lived in a particular school catchment area. Council officials carried out directed surveillance on the family a total of 21 times. This was in the context of rules which allow people who live in the school catchment area to enjoy advantages in obtaining a place at a popular school. The same council put fishermen under covert surveillance to check for the illegal harvesting of cockles and clams in ways that are regulated by RIPA. Other councils in the UK have conducted undercover operations regulated by RIPA against dog fouling
Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996
The Dogs Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The purpose of the Act was to create a criminal offence if a dog defecates at any time on designated land and a person who is in charge of the dog at that time fails to remove the faeces from the land forthwith.It was repealed by...
and fly-tipping
Fly-tipping
Fly-tipping is a British term for dumping waste illegally instead of in an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto land, i.e...
. Despite claims in the press that local councils are conducting over a thousand RIPA-based covert surveillance operations every month for petty offences such as under-age smoking and breaches of planning regulations, the Office of Surveillance Commissioners' last report shows that public bodies granted 8,477 requests for Directed Surveillance, down over 1,400 on the previous year. Less than half of those were granted by Local Authorities, and the commissioner reported that, "Generally speaking, local authorities use their powers sparingly with over half of them granting five or fewer authorisations for directed surveillance. Some sixteen per cent granted none at all." David Smith, deputy commissioner at the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) has stated that he is concerned about the surveillance which has taken place in Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
. In June 2008, the chairman of the Local Government Association
Local Government Association
The Local Government Association is a voluntary lobbying organisation acting as the voice of the local government sector in England and Wales, which seeks to be an authoritative and effective advocate on its behalf....
, Sir Simon Milton
Simon Milton (politician)
Sir Simon Henry Milton was a British Conservative politician. He lately served as London's Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, and before that was a leader of Westminster City Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association.-Early life:Milton was the son of Clive and Ruth Milton and was...
, sent out a letter to the leaders of every council in England, urging local governments not to use the new powers granted by RIPA "for trivial matters", and suggested "reviewing these powers annually by an appropriate scrutiny committee".
Especially contentious was Part III of the Act, which requires persons to supply decrypted information
Key disclosure law
Key disclosure laws, also known as mandatory key disclosure, is legislation that require individuals to surrender cryptographic keys to law enforcement. The purpose is to allow access to material for confiscation or digital forensics purposes and use it either as evidence in a court of law or to...
(which had been previously encrypted by the owner) and/or the cryptographic key to government representatives. Failure to disclose these items is a criminal offence, with a maximum penalty of two years in jail. Using the mechanism of secondary legislation, some parts of the Act required activation by a ministerial order before attaining legal force. Such orders have been made in respect of the relevant sections of Part I and Part II of the RIP Act and Part III. The latter became active in October 2007. The first case where the powers were used was against animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activists in November 2007. In August 2009 it was announced that two people had been prosecuted and convicted for refusing to provide British authorities with their encryption keys. Later that year the first person convicted under RIPA legislation was sentenced to a term of 13 months' imprisonment.
It has been suggested that the "deniable encryption
Deniable encryption
In cryptography and steganography, deniable encryption is encryption that allows its users to convincingly deny that the data is encrypted, or that they are able to decrypt it. Such convincing denials may or may not be genuine. For example, although suspicions might exist that the data is...
" features in free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
such as FreeOTFE
FreeOTFE
FreeOTFE is an open source on-the-fly disk encryption computer program for PCs running Microsoft Windows, and personal digital assistants running Windows Mobile . It creates virtual drives, or disks, to which anything written is automatically encrypted before being stored on a computer's hard or...
, TrueCrypt
TrueCrypt
TrueCrypt is a software application used for on-the-fly encryption . It is free and open source. It can create a virtual encrypted disk within a file or encrypt a partition or the entire storage device .- Operating systems :TrueCrypt supports Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and...
and BestCrypt
BestCrypt
BestCrypt is a commercial disk encryption program for Windows and Linux, developed by Jetico.-Features:* BestCrypt can create and mount an encrypted virtual drive using AES, Blowfish, Twofish, CAST, and various other encryption methods...
will make the task of investigations featuring RIPA much more difficult.
Critics claim that the provisions of Part III are too complex, and possibly unworkable, and that this might be a reason for government reluctance to activate this part of the legislation. Another possibility is that the government wishes to have the powers in reserve, such that if they were deemed necessary they could be implemented more quickly and easily than if new primary legislation
Primary legislation
Primary legislation is law made by the legislative branch of government. This contrasts with secondary legislation, which is usually made by the executive branch...
were required. Another possibility is that relevant government agencies might reasonably believe that it is easier to use pre-existing judicial procedures to compel production of evidence rather than the more cumbersome and difficult procedures that ultimately found their way into Part III.
Another objection is that the Act requires sufficiently large UK Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s to install technical systems to assist law enforcement agencies with interception activity. Although this equipment must be installed at the ISPs' expense, RIPA does provide that Parliament will examine appropriate funding for ISPs if the cost burden became unfairly high.
Prosecutions under the RIPA
A number of offences have been prosecuted involving the abuse of investigatory powers. Widely reported cases include the Stanford/Liddell case, the Goodman/Mulcaire Royal voicemail interception, and Operation Barbatus.Cliff Stanford
Cliff Stanford
Cliff Stanford, an accountant from Southend-on-Sea, was a co-founder of Demon Internet, the first Internet Service Provider in the United Kingdom for individual subscribers...
, and George Nelson Liddell pleaded guilty to offences under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in 2005. They were found to have intercepted emails at the company Redbus Interhouse. Stanford was sentenced to six months' imprisonment suspended for two years, and fined £20,000. It was alleged Stanford had intercepted emails between Dame Shirley Porter and John Porter (Chairman of Redbus Interhouse).
In 2007, News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
royal editor Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman
Clive Goodman is a former royal editor and reporter for the News of the World. He was arrested in August 2006 and jailed in January 2007 for intercepting mobile phone messages involving members of the Royal Household.Goodman initially worked as a journalist on Nigel Dempster's gossip column in the...
was sentenced to four months in jail for intercepting the voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
of members of the Royal Family. His associate Glenn Mulcaire
Glenn Mulcaire
Glenn Mulcaire, born September 8, 1970, is a former professional footballer, latterly a private investigator. He has been closely associated with the News International phone hacking scandal. In January 2007 he was found guilty of illegally intercepting phone messages from Clarence House and...
received a six-month sentence.
In 2007, Operation Barbatus exposed a sophisticated criminal surveillance business organised by corrupt police officers. A former Metropolitan Police officer, Jeremy Young, was jailed for 27 months for various offences including six counts of conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. A second former policeman, Scott Gelsthorpe, was sentenced to 24 months for offences including conspiracy to intercept communications unlawfully. 3 other former police officers and a private detective were also jailed for their part in running a private detective agency called Active Investigation Services.
In 2008, four people were cautioned for 'Unlawful intercepting of a postal, public or private telecommunications scheme', under S.1(1), (2) & (7). The circumstances of the offences are not known at the time of writing. Three people were tried for 'Failure to disclose key to protected information' under S.53 (of which 2 were tried). One person was tried for 'Disclosing details of Section 49 Notice' under S.54.
The first person jailed under RIPA Part III, for not giving police access to encrypted material, was a schizophrenic
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
man who was later judged to be no threat to national security. He said he was refusing to provide keys on principle, on the basis that he should have a right to silence
Right to silence
The right to remain silent is a legal right of any person. This right is recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the world's legal systems....
. He was jailed for 9 months for refusing to hand over his decryption keys, or otherwise decrypt the data, and was later moved to a secure mental hospital part way through his sentence. Notably, the encrypted material in question was not suspected of securing illegal material.
In a 2010 case, Oliver Drage, a 19 year old takeaway worker being investigated as part of a police investigation into a child exploitation network, was sentenced, at Preston Crown Court, to four months imprisonment. Mr Drage was arrested in May 2009, after investigating officers searched his home near Blackpool. He had been required, under this act, to provide his 50-character encryption key but had not complied.
In a further case in 2010 Poole Borough Council was accused of spying unfairly on a family. Although the Council invoked powers under RIPA to establish whether a family fell into a certain school catchment area, when taken before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Investigatory Powers Tribunal
In the United Kingdom, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal is a judicial body, independent of the British Government, which hears complaints about surveillance by public bodies...
it was found guilty of improper use of surveillance powers.
Investigatory Powers Tribunal
The 2000 Act established the Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear complaints about surveillance by public bodies. The Tribunal replaced the Interception of Communications Tribunal, the Security Service Tribunal, and the Intelligence Services Tribunal with effect from 2 October 2000.Between 2000 and 2009 the Tribunal has only upheld 4 out of 956 complaints.
See also
- Human Rights Act 1998Human Rights Act 1998The Human Rights Act 1998 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received Royal Assent on 9 November 1998, and mostly came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim is to "give further effect" in UK law to the rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights...
- Mass surveillanceMass surveillanceMass surveillance is the pervasive surveillance of an entire population, or a substantial fraction thereof.Modern governments today commonly perform mass surveillance of their citizens, explaining that they believe that it is necessary to protect them from dangerous groups such as terrorists,...
- Phone hackingPhone hackingPhone hacking is a term used to describe the practice of intercepting telephone calls or voicemail messages, often by accessing the voicemail messages of a mobile phone without the consent of the phone's owner...
- Rubber-hose cryptanalysisRubber-hose cryptanalysisIn cryptography, rubber-hose cryptanalysis is the extraction of cryptographic secrets from a person by coercion or torture, in contrast to a mathematical or technical cryptanalytic attack....
- Plausible deniabilityPlausible deniabilityPlausible deniability is, at root, credible ability to deny a fact or allegation, or to deny previous knowledge of a fact. The term most often refers to the denial of blame in chains of command, where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible,...
- Interception Modernisation ProgrammeInterception Modernisation ProgrammeThe Interception Modernisation Programme is a UK government initiative to extend the government's capabilities for intercepting and storing communications data...
- United States v. BoucherUnited States v. BoucherIn re Boucher, No. 2:06-mj-91, 2009 WL 424718, is a federal criminal case in Vermont, which was the first to address directly the question of whether a person can be compelled to reveal his or her encryption passphrase or password, despite the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment protection against...
, a case in the US courts which determined that a criminal defendant cannot be forced to reveal his encryption passphrase but can be forced to provide a plaintext (decrypted) copy of their encrypted data
External links
- The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, as originally enacted, from the Office of Public Sector InformationOffice of Public Sector InformationThe Office of Public Sector Information is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and of other public information services of the United Kingdom...
. - Explanatory notes to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 from the Office of Public Sector Information.
- Regulation of Investigatory Powers Information Centre (against RIP)
- Parliament "didn't understand RIP Act"
- Articles on aspects of RIPA and Surveillance Law
- BBC News Website (April 2008) - RIPA Spy law 'used in dog fouling war'