A
move is underway to amend the Bangladesh Telecommunication
Act 2001, allowing intelligence agencies to
breach privacy of individuals by tapping telephone
calls and busting e-mails, sources said.
A leading intelligence agency backed by others
has initiated the move and convinced the relevant
ministries to amend the act, paving the
way for gross breach of privacy, sources said.
The agencies also want access to the subscribers'
database of all fixed phone and cellular phone
service providers and the Internet service
providers (ISPs).
The telecoms act stipulates that breaching
individual privacy by eavesdropping on telephone
conversations between two persons is a
punishable offence as it infringes on civil
rights.
Although security agencies cannot legally
eavesdrop on telephone conversations, allegations
have long been there that they monitor and
tap telephone calls illegally. But at present,
they cannot use the information derived by
such means as evidence in a court of law.
However, after its amendment, the intelligence
agencies will be able to manoeuvre freely
to listen to individual telephone calls, read
e-mails and produce tapped and e-mailed messages
before the court as evidence.
Section 71 of the telecoms act describes penalty
for eavesdropping on telephone conversations:
"A person commits an offence, if he
intentionally listens to a telephone conversation
between two other persons, and for such offence,
he shall be liable to be sentenced to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six
months or to a fine not exceeding 50 thousand
taka or both."
Sources said security agencies have been able
to persuade the Prime Minister's Office to
bring changes to the telecoms act, citing
the rise
of terrorist activities in Bangladesh and
September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade
Centre in New York,US.
The agencies also convinced the Ministry of
Post and Telecommu-nications (MoPT) to bring
some changes to the telecoms law. The ministry
recently held a series of meetings with the
Ministry of Law and Bangladesh Telecommuni-cations
Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The BTRC has already prepared a draft outlining
changes asked for by the security agencies
on instruction of the law ministry.
The agencies want a change in the subsection
of Section 30 of the telecoms act, which deals
with protection of privacy of
telecommunications, by incorporating the words,
put here in italics: "to ensure protection
of the privacy of telecommunications; subject
to the national security laws".
"In fact, the telecoms ministry and telecoms
watchdog are under pressure from the security
agencies, which are pressing for the changes
in the name of state security," a senior
government official said on condition of anonymity.
The security agencies have also asked for
an amendment to Section 5. According to them,
it should read, "Notwithstanding any
contrary
provisions of any other law, subject to the
provisions of national security law, the provisions
of this Act shall have effect", instead
of
"Notwithstanding any contrary provisions
of any other law, the provisions of this act
shall have effect."
"Providing such opportunity to intelligence
agencies means putting them above law,"
said Barrister Tanjibul Alam of Dr Kamal Hossain
&
Associates, a law firm. Tanjibul is one of
the solicitors to have prepared the original
act as consultant.
"There will be no privacy of individuals
if the law is amended according to the desire
of the security agencies," a civil society
activist said.
A civil rights activist said if the secret
agencies have the amendments they want in
place "this will make the country a police
state".
The proposed amendments are in violation of
the independence of the BTRC, Tanjibul observed.
Most of the protection of privacy under Section
30 of the telecommunications act will be curtailed
in the name of national
security, which is a vague term, said Tanjibul.
It will also undermine the purpose of the
telecoms act, which was envisaged establishing
an independent commission for development
and
efficient regulation of telecoms system and
telecoms services in Bangladesh and for the
transfer of the powers and functions of the
post
and telecommunications ministry to the BTRC.
The telecoms policy was enacted in parliament
in 1998 and the telecoms act was passed in
2001.
Mustak Hossain, The Daily Star, 05 Sep 2003
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