From: believer@telepath.com Subject: IP: Police seek to intercept emails without warrant: UK Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 11:13:14 -0500 To: believer@telepath.com Source: London Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000150689433551&rtmo=wMontQMb&atmo=99999 999&P4_FOLLOW_ON=/98/9/20/nemai20.html&pg=/et/98/9/20/nemai20.html UK News Electronic Telegraph Sunday 20 September 1998 Issue 1213 Police seek to intercept emails without warrant By David Bamber THE police will be able to intercept private emails without obtaining a warrant, under a new agreement being finalised with Internet providers. The Telegraph has discovered that the police are negotiating the right to monitor electronic letters by examining information held on disks at the offices of the computer companies providing the links. Because the laws on interception were drafted before emails were widely used, the police do not need to obtain individual warrants to read the correspondence. Telephone tapping and the interception of ordinary post require a warrant from the Home Secretary, Jack Straw. The police say they need access to emails sent by the country's eight-million Internet users so that they can monitor criminal activity, especially paedophile and pornography rings. Mr Straw is backing the proposed agreement. The police want all Internet providers to keep copies of emails for a week. But the far-reaching moves have led to fears that the private correspondence of innocent people and businesses will be routinely monitored. Liz Parratt, of the civil liberties organisation, Liberty, said: "Allowing the police to read emails without a warrant would be akin to allowing them to steam open our letters as soon as we put them in the post box. I'd be interested to hear if any Internet providers signed up to this shabby deal." The first of three forums between Internet providers and the Association of Chief Police Officers will be held in Edinburgh on Tuesday. © Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1998. ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- ********************************************** To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: majordomo@majordomo.pobox.com with the message: (un)subscribe ignition-point email@address ********************************************** www.telepath.com/believer **********************************************