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[FYI] UK: IOCA Consultation



http://www.dispatches.demon.net/cgi-bin/framer.pl/pr/1999/pr1999-08-19
a.html

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PRESS RELEASE - 18th August 1999

                                      IOCA Consultation

All interceptions of the public telephone system in this country take
place under a strict regime of rules laid down by Parliament. These
rules mainly provided for in the 1985 Interception of Communications
Act (IOCA) 1985. 

Since its incept nearly 15 years ago, the communications industry has
seen some what of a revolution and the growth of the Internet means
the industry now exists in a vastly different form. The Home Office
believes that the existing capabilities of the IOCA to lawfully
intercept communications and search seized computers will be eroded by
these developments and that it will no longer be able to act as an
effective monitor. 

This was the view the Home Office put forward in a consultation paper
released in June of this year. Within the report, the Home Office have
put forward proposals as to how the IOCA can be amended to best suit
these changes. 

Commenting on the report, the Home Secretary Jack Straw has stated
that his proposals will "maintain interception as the most powerful
weapon in the armoury against crime". 

His proposals include the creation of a single legal frame work to
regulate the inception of all networks both public and private. Demon
Internet was asked to comment on the proposals. Its response is below.

[...]

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