Week 15 - Intellectual Property, Creative Commons & DRM

Should the government have the right to access private information?

Article 8 of the European convention is the Human Rights Act 1998 - the right to respect for private and family life. Article 8 covers issues such as interception of correspondence (telephone, letter, e-mail), search warrants (at home or work), access to information about a person’s own identity and many others. However, In the UK, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Act of 2000 allows a limited group of authorities to demand private information about people's Internet and mobile phone activities from the companies that provide connections.

New technology offers criminals new opportunities as it is estimated that 600 million people have access to the internet therefore access to e-mail causing the internet to be a source of private information. The British Government has increased the police’s powers to detect crime on the internet allowing access to private information. Critics fear that security forces such as police, customs and secret services will invade the privacy of British citizens. Access to e-mail and mobile phone information for authorities also brings up the issue that personal information will be collected and monitored even if it isn’t criminal activity.

This then raises the question that is our privacy being breached by the government?. Since the September 11th security has become more of a priority then privacy giving a reasons for governments to introduce new laws making Human rights Acts less enforcing. I personally, believe that the government are not invading our privacy but will find a reason to intercept correspondence even without sufficient evidence.