Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
Contents |
What is it?
The UK Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIP Act, or RIPA) was put on the statute book to ensure that the activities of Law Enforcement (the Intelligence Agencies, Police, Customs & Excise and other bodies) were properly regulated before the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force in October 2000.
The Act comes in several loosely connected parts:
- Part I Chapter I
- updates the law on "telephone tapping" to clearly cover Internet communications and to ensure that tapping "private" networks was lawful (following the Halfordcase).
- Part I Chapter II
- sets up a formal system for the serving of notices on telcos and ISPs to obtain "communications data". The old ad hoc system based on s29(3) of the Data Protection Act 1998is no longer used.
- Part II
- sets up a formal system for authorising "surveillance". Without such permission, Law Enforcement would be infringing your right to a "private life" under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Part III
- gives Law Enforcement the power to serve notices requiring that encrypted material be "put into an intelligible form" (or as everyone else would say, decrypted). Under some circumstances the notices can require that encryption keys are handed over. See RIP Act Part III.
Other parts of the Act contain definitions, and set up Surveillance and Interception Commissioners and an Investigatory Powers Tribunal to hear complaints about unwarranted interception and related issues.
Executive Summary
Simon Watkin (home office) "Public consultation on draft codes of practice for both Part I Chapter II and Part III of RIPA will open in the week commencing 5 June 2006."
The return of the Crypto Wars.
We have detailed information on RIP Act Part III and the on going consultation.
We also have a RIP Act Part I Chapter II page for the on going consultation. As Spy Blog has said "This Draft Code of Practice has massive implications when combined with the European Union's plans for mandatory Data Retention of Communications Traffic Data."
Links
People
- Richard Clayton, Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge (on ORG Advisory Council)
- Professor Ross Anderson, chairman of the Federation for Information Policy if it involves encryption and you have not talked to Ross you have not done your homework. Ross Anderson on Wikipedia
Documents
Official text of the RIP Act 2000
