The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c.23) (RIP or RIPA) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillance and investigation, and covering the interception of communications. It was introduced by the Tony Blair Labour government ostensibly to take account of technological change such as the growth of the Internet and strong encryption. The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIP) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 9 February 2000 and completed its Parliamentary passage on 26 July. Following a public consultation and Parliamentary debate, Parliament approved new additions in December 2003, April 2005, July 2006 and February 2010. A draft bill was put before Parliament during 4 November 2015. Summary RIPA regulates the manner in which certain public bodies may conduct surveillance and access a person's electronic communications. The Act: enables certain public bodies to demand that an ISP provide access to a customer's communications in secret; enables mass surveillance of communications in transit; enables certain public bodies to demand ISPs fit equipment to facilitate surveillance; enables certain public bodies to demand that someone hand over keys to protected information; allows certain public bodies to monitor people's Internet activities; prevents the existence of interception warrants and any data collected with them from being revealed in court. Powers Agencies with investigative powers Communications data The type of communications data that can be accessed varies with the reason for its use, and cannot be adequately explained here. Refer to the legislation for more specific information. Charity Commission Criminal Cases Review Commission Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service a county council or district council in England, a London borough council, the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, and any county council or county borough council in Wales Department for Transport, for the purposes of: Marine Accident Investigation Branch Rail Accident Investigation Branch Air Accidents Investigation Branch Maritime and Coastguard Agency a district council within the meaning of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for Northern Ireland (for the purposes of Trading Standards) Department of Health (for the purposes of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) Department of Trade and Industry Environment Agency Financial Conduct Authority