The question relates to the boundary between the right of privacy to personal communications (article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights) and the right and power of colleges to monitor the use of their network and their facilities to prevent abuse. By 'remote monitoring on PCs', it is assumed that what is meant is the ability of a human 'supervisor' to remotely see what programs and processes are running on a user's PC, to see the screen output of the PC, and/or to access a log of user inputs. Such monitoring is covered by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA), as remote monitoring is simply a form of intercepting communications.
The RIPA and the corresponding statutory instruments do not give carte blanche to educational establishments themselves to intercept communications on their private systems. Any interception must be carried out within the limits set out by the legislation and those likely to be subjected to interception should, as far as is reasonably possible, be made aware that it may take place.
Institutions may monitor and record communications:
- to establish the existence of facts to ascertain compliance with regulatory or self-regulatory practices or procedures or to ascertain or demonstrate standards which are or ought to be achieved
- in the interests of national security
- to prevent or detect crime
- to investigate or detect unauthorised use of telecommunications systems
- to secure, or as an inherent part of, effective system operation
Institutions may monitor but not record:
- received communications to determine whether they are business or personal communications
- communications made to anonymous telephone help lines
Notice of interceptions
These interceptions will be legitimate only if the controller of the telecommunications system on which they occur has made all reasonable efforts to inform potential users that interceptions may be made. This may take the form of clauses in employment contracts and/or regular reminders in the form of notices in offices and stickers on computers and phones. As yet, however, the courts have not had the chance to decide what exactly constitutes 'reasonable' in this context.
Further clarification with regard to monitoring in the FE HE sector can be obtained in the JISC Legal Interception & Monitoring Law webcast available on the website at - http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/Webcast/interception.html.