Can someone point me in the direction of what law applies in this instance? What is the 'digital' equivalent of the trespass law?

I would be interested to read if the intent to cause damage or fear is as integral a part in the 'virtual world' as it is in the physical.

I could be wrong but I don't think we have an equivalent of the UK's law on intercepting phone communications.

I think we should have though, because I think there are still some significant differences between the common law idea of trespass and this situation.

There are plenty of exceptions to the general principle of trespass, eg. people who are implicitly invited on to your property, meter readers, post-men etc. but it's hard to think of any good reasons why someone would be listening to your voicemail (without your permission). So, the malign intent is more clear-cut, in my opinion.

Also, the locked-door analogy works up to a point, but in a lot of cases, people aren't necessarily aware there's an electronic "lock" on their voicemail. You can buy a phone, use the voicemail, without changing, or even knowing there is a password on the voicemail. You only need to know the password if you want to access the VM from another phone.

As usual, there's a good Digital Rights page! Our privacy laws don't seem to cover it, so DRI have complained to the EU Commission...

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In the UK the relevant law is the Regulation of Investigative Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

That makes for some truly scary reading, lets hope the situation is addressed, and properly.

If someone listening in on your phone calls doesn't breach your privacy I don't know what does

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