| Government of Zimbabwe plans to monitor Internet and mobile phones |
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| World Affairs Talk | |
| Wednesday, 27 June 2007 | |
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Zimbabwe early this year unveiled a proposed law that would give it authority to monitor phones and mail--both conventional and Internet--to protect national security and fight crime. The bill, which seeks to provide for lawful interception, passed through Senate without amendments and now awaits President Robert Mugabe's assent. Once signed, certain communications will be intercepted or monitored in the course of their transmission through telecommunications or postal service. The Bill sailed through the Senate last week (June 2007) after having been passed by the House of Assembly early this week. It also proposes for the establishment of an interception communications center. Earlier, Zimbabwe's military has said the country's mobile phone operators are threatening national security by using independent connections to the outside world. The military feels, mobile phone firms should route international calls through the state-owned fixed-line operator TelOne, and not use their own gateways, in order to make it easier to monitor international traffic. Critics say the bill is motivated by Mugabe's desire to punish and keep closer tabs on the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe's main opposition party, amid rising unrest in the economically strapped southern African nation. Rights groups say the "Interception of Communication Bill" is part of a crackdown that has included tough policing and political intimidation to stifle criticism of an economic crisis many blame on President Robert Mugabe's policies. In June 2004, Mugabe asked ISPs to monitor all email traffic passing through their systems for "anti-national activities". ISPs protest that this is an impossible task. Share & Bookmark             |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 29 June 2007 ) |
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