Part 1: General Privacy Protections Section 3: Offence of unlawful interception
Subsection (1) makes it an offence to intentionally intercept, in the United Kingdom, a communication in the course of its transmission without lawful authority. This applies to communications in the course of transmission via a public telecommunications system, a private telecommunications system or a public postal service. This offence previously existed under RIPA.
	Subsection (2) provides that the criminal offence in subsection (1) does not apply where a person has the right to control the operation or use of the system or has the express or implied consent of such a person to carry out the interception. This is relevant to computer networks in the home or workplace for example.
	Subsections (3), (4) and (5) signpost the sections of the Act which define:
interception and when this is understood to be taking place in the UK;
public telecommunications system, private telecommunications system and public postal service; and
when a person has lawful authority to carry out interception.
	A public telecommunications system is a system used to provide a telecommunications service to the public in the United Kingdom. A private telecommunications system is one that is separate from, but connected to a public telecommunications system. This will include computer networks in the home or workplace.
	Subsection (6) sets out the penalties for a person who is found guilty of the offence of unlawful interception under subsection (1). The penalty for unlawful interception replicates the penalty which existed under RIPA.
	No one can be prosecuted under this section except with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions in England and Wales or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland.