Telephone tapping: no direction of the ICTA

No recommendation to authorize the'interception telephone calls were made by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) to the Minister of ICT to date. Nor has it received any request of any operator in the sense, nor has it given any instructions to the communication service provider under section 25 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). 

So is the clarification by the Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, in response to a question by opposition MP Adil Ameer Meea on the interception of telephone calls. The latter wanted to know if instructions were given to operators following the recent allegations aimed at destabilizing the country.

Categorical, Navin Ramgoolam said that listening to phone calls is only allowed under specific conditions and that our laws make provision in parameters established in the interests of state sovereignty, national security and public order. 

When the police want to use wiretaps in criminal proceedings, they must seek an order to a judge in the House. This is to allow an operator or an employee to intercept, retain, or disclose to the police a message or a phone call. The judge's order is valid for a period of 60 days. 

Once the order received, the police send it to the phone company's name and address of the person to be tapped. The operator does not provide a detailed invoice containing the information of incoming and outgoing mobile phone, fixed phone or other telecommunications services. No content data is revealed to the police. 

The ICT Act of 2001 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2002 provides that there may be interference with a telecommunication message in some circumstances.

In an additional question of Ameer Meea member to know where are we with the bill the Telecommunications Interception Bill, which was announced in Parliament in 2006, Navin Ramgoolam replied that such a proposal was made under certain circumstances. He then referred the matter Caterino, a former Air France flight attendant who had been arrested by the Mauritian authorities for trafficking in Subutex.

Moreover, hacking of telephone calls (telephone hacking) was raised by the Leader of the the opposition. Paul Berenger asked the Prime Minister on this widespread problem, he said, in the media and others. He wanted to know if the head of government plans to introduce a law to protect citizens against such practices. 

An opportunity for Navin Ramgoolam to return to the Media Law being prepared by Jeffrey Robertson: " After the events in the UK Jeffrey Robertson is even more careful with the Media Law.We also study the possibility of Privacy Law to prevent any hacking phone , "he said.