Roland Perry - "is an ISP a 'Person'?"

[Charles Lindsey]

	On Thu, 03 Oct 2002 20:01:05 +0100
	Peter Fairbrother <zenadsl6186@zen.co.uk> said...

> Leaving the RIPA sh*t, and it is sh*t, out for a moment, if autoscanning
> isn't interception then ISP's could autoscan MY mail for anything they
> liked, and block mail they thought I shouldn't see. Or from people they
> disagreed with. Or to people they didn't want me to write to. Or any mail
> that was encrypted. They needn't even tell me about it. It wouldn't be an
> offence. And the tort if any would be damn hard to prove - hell, you might
> not even know it had happened.

Assuming that the autoscanning just throws the "bad" stuff away, keeping
no copy, then none of those things is unlawful under RIPA (and why
should it be - it is a long way removed from "Regulation of Investigatory
Powers"). It is also not unlawful under any other Act AFAIAA. It would
be unlawful if Royal Mail did it (using some sekrit X-Ray scanning
technique perhaps). It may well be a breach of the contract between you
and your ISP, for which you might have civil remedies, but simpler just
to find another ISP.
> 
> That has to be wrong,

Maybe so, but it isn't

> and in everyday terms it has to be interception. 

True, but "everyday terms" are not the subject of this discussion.

> Isn't SpamAssassin free? Can't people run it on their own boxes? I have no
> problem with that. 

Yes, but it doesn't prevent the cost shown on my telephone bill for all
the stuff I have to download before deleting locally.

Your problem is that you are trying to fight a political campaign, or
right a political wrong, which is fair enough. But the mistake you are
making is to try and bend the law to fit the aim you are trying to
achieve. The law doesn't work like that.

Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own thing------------------------
Tel: +44 161 436 6131 Fax: +44 161 436 6133   Web: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~chl
Email: chl@clw.cs.man.ac.uk      Snail: 5 Clerewood Ave, CHEADLE, SK8 3JU, U.K.
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