To what extent do you believe that the RIPA 2000 balances Respect for Essay

To what extent do you believe that the RIPA 2000 balances Respect for Private Life with a Need to Protect the Public - Essay Example It is argued that the balance is in favour of protection of the public. The Right to Privacy In order to determine the extent to which the tensions between protection of the public and protection of the right to privacy are balanced in the context of online communications via RIPA, it is first necessary to analyse the legal framework relative to the right to privacy. ... However, where those exceptions exist such as the protection of the public or the prevention of crime, interference in the individual’s right to privacy must be according to law. In this regard, the European Court of Human Rights (EHR) ruled that any such laws or regulatory regime must be clear enough so that average citizens is aware that he or she does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the circumstances allowing state interference in private life.6 Obviously where an individual engages in certain activities in public, there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy.7 Obviously online communications are activities conducted in public and thus there should be no reasonable expectation of privacy, thus no breach of Article 8(1).8 Even so, the European Court of Human Rights has held that the mere fact that activities are conducted in public does not automatically mean that there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy.9 It therefore follows that if an activit y is conducted in public and there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, the protection of privacy as provided for under Article 8 of the ECHR will arise. Online communications can be regarded as public activities but can raise complex questions as to whether or not there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. For example, posting in a public forum online or blogging are probably as public as an individual carrying a â€Å"banner† in public can reasonably expect for it to be read by almost anyone.10 Complicating matters for online communications relative to a reasonable expectation of privacy, online users often have several tools available to them for â€Å"restricting access.†11 On the other hands, there are instances in online communications where the user obviously has a