The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (OCR A Level Computer Science)
Revision Note
Written by: Jennifer Page
Reviewed by: James Woodhouse
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
What is the Regulation of Investigatory Powers?
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) legislates as to how organisations can monitor electronic communications
The RIPA covers investigation, surveillance and interception of communication by public bodies
E.g. MI6 can legally wiretap online conversations in the interests of national security provided that a warrant has been issued
Certain actions require government approval
Different organisations have different limits on what they can do (GCHQ is amongst those that have most freedom)
The Act enforces internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile phone companies to give up information on request from an authorised authority and to ensure that their networks have sufficient hardware installed to facilitate surveillance about a person
This Act is particularly controversial as its powers also extend to small agencies like local councils
Some people feel that the Act is an invasion of privacy or that it is used improperly
There have been examples of this Act being used for reasons other than monitoring criminal or terrorist activities including monitoring cockle fisherman, fly tippers, and even a family to work out whether they lived in the catchment area of a local school
Rights & Impact on Organisations
With the increase in criminal and terrorist activities on the internet this act allows the Police and other public bodies to:
Demand ISPs to provide access to a customer’s communications
This means that ISPs have to implement hardware and software which facilitates the surveillance of digital communications
Allows mass surveillance of communications
Demands access to be granted to protected information
Businesses have to provide access to digital communications or data when asked for
They have to implement hardware and software solutions that facilitates the storage of digital communications
Allowing monitoring of an individual’s internet activities
Prevents the existence of such interception activities being revealed in court
Case Study
British Councils used RIPA to secretly spy on public (External link to theguardian.com)
In 2016 an investigation was completed after councils were given permission to carry out more than 55,000 days of covert surveillance over 5 years which included people walking dogs, feeding pigeons and fly-tipping
A freedom of information request has found that 186 local authorities, two-thirds of those that responded, used RIPA to gather evidence by secret listening devices, cameras and private detectives
Examiner Tips and Tricks
When you are asked to describe the RIPA you need to specify the technical terms "surveillance" and "communication" and don’t generalise them
Surveillance is the use of technology to gather information on people, and the communication is done electronically
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