14 August 2001

An independent commission that would serve as a watchdog to oversee implementation needs to be established before the proposed Interception and Monitoring Bill becomes law.
This comment was made by bridges.org, a Cape Town based NGO promoting laws and policies fostering technology use in its written comments on the draft Interception and Monitoring Bill submitted to Parliament on Monday, 13 August.

The need for an independent commission was especially critical in the context of a developing country where people have concerns about trusting government, bridges.org said. Such a commission would also curb the potential for abuse within communication monitoring centres, and ensure that accidental interceptions of unwarranted communications are reported and minimised.

The draft bill stipulates that service providers will not be allowed to provide telecommunication services that do not have the capacity to be monitored. Although bridges.org supported the tabling of the Bill as an attempt by government to address the increasing problem of organized crime and corruption within the country, it said a number of issues required further consideration.

The Bill should make it clear that individuals' rights to privacy will be respected, and will only be infringed under specific and compelling circumstances which are clearly stated in advance, and a clear definition of "national security" should be included in the legislation to minimize the potential for abuse and ensure a universal threshold for obtaining a warrant.

The requirement that service providers should cover the costs incurred in allowing for the surveillance of their communication services was also worrying. Bridges.org was sensitive as to whether the proposed bill will place onerous financial demands on smaller ISPs and that the growth of the industry will be affected at a time when access to communication services needs to be actively expanded. The demise of smaller service providers could have a detrimental effect on the overall economy and the integration of ICTs into society, especially in a developing country.

End

For more information, see bridges.org's complete written comments on the bill.

Contact person:
Ewan McPhie
Policy Advisor