Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

UK government legislation passed in July 2000. The government's stated aim was to give the UK police and security services the same right to read e-mail as they currently have to read postal mail and to tap telephone messages, under warrant from a judge.

Critics of the act point to draconian clauses that reverse the normal presumption of an individual's innocence until he or she is proved guilty. Many business people feel that the act also makes nonsense of the government's stated intention of making the UK the best country in which to carry out electronic commerce.