(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Is it legal for a company to monitor your ip address? and keep records ?

The NSA does it all the time so yeah.

To be on the real side, yes companies are allowed to monitor what you do to be safe from having the things they do not want on their site. Now invading someone's privacy and looking through their emails or text messages is illegal.

Yes, as each country has different laws, the IP companies are allowed to monitor and block you, in some cases report you.

My brother in law downloaded a film and he got a letter from the IP service saying he had to stop or else.

If you are expected of committing a crime I think the law can look through your emails and text messages if they believe it can help with their case once they have arrested you that is, not by coming up to you and say I need to search your phone etc.

In the UK Gary Glitter was arrested for having child porn on his computer, how they found out was, he had taken it to PC World to be fixed and they saw the content and told the police.

It's an old story but here it is You must login or register to view this content.

Most of the stuff you do companies monitor it, not used unless they have a reason to look at the data.

If you are at work, using company computers and networks, then technically ANY data you send is company property.
Same goes for libraries and universities/schools, as well as free wifi spots! They wholly reserve the right to monitor network data and see what their users are doing on their network. Now, whether an actual person is viewing this data, either live or as stored files, or if it's just getting recorded and filled away somewhere to never actually be viewed. Most of the NSA's data is garbage like this, crap you and me have said or emailed that doesn't matter.

Now, if you are at home on your own private network... that's another story. You'd have to agree to that company's policy, and usually it is within certain limits or programs. Such as any annoying licensing agreement or ToS we all blindly hit agree and continue.