ABSTRACT

This chapter provides a brief discussion of encryption law and practice, showing how data owners may identify data as theirs but also hide it from those they do not wish to see it. The use of encryption involves a variety of risks, particularly in cases where the encryption is compromised. The chapter considers the special position of governmental data and governmental rights. It also considers the government right to seize data to assist with law enforcement and other core governmental functions. This includes not simply such data as individuals happen to hold, but also the widening category of data which individuals are required to keep precisely so that law enforcement bodies can inspect it. The chapter also provides detail of the different Irish and UK legislative schemes. It concludes with sections on the sharing of data within government, and the freedom of information legislation, which gives individuals rights to view government documents.