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Reading others' emails

  • 01-08-2019 2:36pm
    #1
    hullaballoo
    Administrators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,774 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭


    I am having some difficulty locating where I have read before that there is specific provision dealing with the reading of another person's emails - I'm nearly sure it was on this forum but cannot find anything.

    Something to do with the Interception of Postal Packages and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993?


Comments

  • #2
    GM228
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,922 ✭✭✭GM228


    I don't remember the 1993 Act ever being discussed here in relation to e-mails?

    In what context, authorisation, criminal or civil etc?

    Reading another persons e-mail is potentially an offence under S2 of the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 if it involves infringing a security measure. Previously it was an offence to do so without permission even if no security measures were infringed but that is no longer the case.

    On the civil side I suppose you can make an invasion of privacy argument.


  • #3
    hullaballoo
    Administrators, Entertainment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 18,774 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭hullaballoo


    I could be totally misremembering what I saw, when I saw it and where tbh.

    What was the previous provision that didn't require security infringement?


  • #4
    GM228
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,922 ✭✭✭GM228


    hullaballoo wrote: »
    What was the previous provision that didn't require security infringement?

    S5 of the Criminal Damage Act 1991, it was an offence to use a computer to access or attempt to access data without lawful excuse, there was no further qualification, the section has been deleted by the 2017 Act.


    hullaballoo wrote: »
    I could be totally misremembering what I saw, when I saw it and where tbh.

    It's an offence to open someone else's mail and we have discussed that previously, I detailed the relevant law:-

    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057593195

    https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057815825&page=1

    Perhaps those are what you are thinking of?

    Just going back to the privacy point I made, the ECHR Copland vs United Kingdom [2007] ECHR 253 case confirmed that unauthorised access to e-mail is a breach of Article 8 of the ECHR and the right to privacy.


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