[Tharrick]

Originally Posted by Hank

Really? I'm not saying I don't understand the impact of being 'on the internet', no what I mean is, I grant permission on a social network site to specific individuals to see my data. I don't grant it to their ISP. Why does the ISP think they can assume consent? They did not request permission to be my firend, I did not authorise them to view the content. To me that seems a reasonable argument (in law, my privacy, my data, for my friends, not them, not for Phorm)

I understand what you are saying (I think) it was intended as flippant - right? (Rather than a factual answer to the question?)

Welcome to the forum, I'm quite new here also. Don't misunderstand my reply, I'm genuinely interested in how this might work, versus the opinion of the ISP.

Hank

It was mostly intended as flippant, but also partly in reference to the emailed response I recall being mentioned on El Reg (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...horm_shambles/) from the Home Office which proclaims that under section 3 of RIPA, private companies are allowed to do certain things which the government are not. Section 3 of RIPA, as far as I can tell, deals with the issue of consent, stating that it's OK to intercept data providing that a) the person who is sending it consents to the interception and b) the person receiving it consents to it being sent in the first place. That'd suggest that simply by being on the internet, consent is implied.

What worries me more is this:

Originally Posted by The Government

(3) Conduct consisting in the interception of a communication is authorised by this section if—

(a) it is conduct by or on behalf of a person who provides a postal service or a telecommunications service; and

(b) it takes place for purposes connected with the provision or operation of that service or with the enforcement, in relation to that service, of any enactment relating to the use of postal services or telecommunications services.

Which would suggest that in fact the ISPs are allowed to spy on you as much as they want to. Of course, odds are I'm completely wrong on this one - I'm a microbiology student, not a lawyer, and I don't pretend to understand part (b) there. I can explain the molecular mechanisms behind how plague kills you, but not an awful lot of the law regarding wiretapping.