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RIPA covers a wide range of media, including post, e-mail messages, telephone calls, faxes and Internet usage. It is designed to control how organisations deal with intercepting communications on networks.
It is illegal to intercept communications on a public network without legal authority.Any organisation (especially an employer) would be open to civil action if they failed to obtain legal authority to intercept a communication, or have a reasonable belief that both the sender and recipient of the communication have consented to the interception.
Interception can be performed in specific circumstances, including:
The interception must be related to the organisation's normal business, and best efforts must be made to inform employees and callers that such practices do happen on occasion.
The development, agreement and publishing of specific Internet and e-mail usage policies is required to help employers adhere to RIPA. See Policy and Standards page for details on developing policy.
