Any opinions on this article?
found it recently, dunno how old it is, or if its passed already...
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/back/balancing-act_73a.html
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">SOUTH AFRICA’S INTERCEPTION AND MONITORING BILL STILL MAKING WAVES
US-based Politech has provided a useful quick summary of South Africa’s "Interception and Monitoring" bill, which has cleared the Cabinet and is heading for a vote in the Parliament:
- Internet providers and telephone companies must provide a pipe to a National Monitoring Center for Carnivoresque surveillance. "The Police Service, the Defence Force, the Agency, the Service and the Directorate must, at State expense, establish, equip, operate and maintain central monitoring centres... Duplicate signals of communications authorized to be monitored in terms of this Act, must be routed by the service provider concerned to the designated central monitoring centre concerned."
- Internet providers may not "provide any telecommunication service which does not have the capacity to be monitored." A provider is responsible for "decrypting any communication encrypted by a customer if the facility for encryption was provided by the service provider concerned." This represents an attack on liberty, privacy, and autonomy, and is akin to anti-encryption rules in Russia a few years ago. Though as a practical matter, a lot would seem to turn on the definition of "provide." Does that mean giving someone an SSL-enabled web browser? IPv6 software?
- The legislation bans the provision of anonymous Internet access. It says: "A service provider must... require from such person his or her full names, residential, business or postal address and identity number."
- Internet providers and telcos must pay for their own surveillance. "A service provider must at own cost and within the period, if any, specified by the Minister of Communications in a directive referred to in subsection (4)(a), acquire the necessary facilities and devices to enable the monitoring of communications in terms of this Act. The investment, technical, maintenance and operating costs in enabling a telecommunication service to be monitored, must be carried by the service provider providing such a service."
- Internet providers cannot reveal wiretaps. "No person who is or was concerned in the performance of any function in terms of this Act, may disclose any information which he or she obtained in the performance of such a function" (except to officials or courts).
The text of the legislation is here: http://www.pmg.org.za/bills/Interception0107.htm
Durban-based Bridges.org believes that independent commission that would serve as a watchdog to oversee implementation needs to be established before the proposed Interception and Monitoring Bill becomes law.
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 Cape Telecommunications Users Forum wishes noted the following technology related implications of the Interception and Monitoring Bill:
a) CTUF wishes to commend Government in that compliance to the Interception and Monitoring Bill will ensure that service providers are technically and legally competent to offer their telecommunication services to the market. We also support and encourage mandatory privacy policies for all communications service providers.
b) However, it is noted that the technical design of new telecommunication and communications technologies may need to ensure that compliance to the Interception and Monitoring Bill is adhered to before those technologies can be implemented in the market. This may not necessarily limit technological innovation in this sector but may impact negatively on the commercial application of new technologies in the market.
See: http://www.ctuf.za.org.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
[?]
DRotU
found it recently, dunno how old it is, or if its passed already...
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/back/balancing-act_73a.html
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">SOUTH AFRICA’S INTERCEPTION AND MONITORING BILL STILL MAKING WAVES
US-based Politech has provided a useful quick summary of South Africa’s "Interception and Monitoring" bill, which has cleared the Cabinet and is heading for a vote in the Parliament:
- Internet providers and telephone companies must provide a pipe to a National Monitoring Center for Carnivoresque surveillance. "The Police Service, the Defence Force, the Agency, the Service and the Directorate must, at State expense, establish, equip, operate and maintain central monitoring centres... Duplicate signals of communications authorized to be monitored in terms of this Act, must be routed by the service provider concerned to the designated central monitoring centre concerned."
- Internet providers may not "provide any telecommunication service which does not have the capacity to be monitored." A provider is responsible for "decrypting any communication encrypted by a customer if the facility for encryption was provided by the service provider concerned." This represents an attack on liberty, privacy, and autonomy, and is akin to anti-encryption rules in Russia a few years ago. Though as a practical matter, a lot would seem to turn on the definition of "provide." Does that mean giving someone an SSL-enabled web browser? IPv6 software?
- The legislation bans the provision of anonymous Internet access. It says: "A service provider must... require from such person his or her full names, residential, business or postal address and identity number."
- Internet providers and telcos must pay for their own surveillance. "A service provider must at own cost and within the period, if any, specified by the Minister of Communications in a directive referred to in subsection (4)(a), acquire the necessary facilities and devices to enable the monitoring of communications in terms of this Act. The investment, technical, maintenance and operating costs in enabling a telecommunication service to be monitored, must be carried by the service provider providing such a service."
- Internet providers cannot reveal wiretaps. "No person who is or was concerned in the performance of any function in terms of this Act, may disclose any information which he or she obtained in the performance of such a function" (except to officials or courts).
The text of the legislation is here: http://www.pmg.org.za/bills/Interception0107.htm
Durban-based Bridges.org believes that independent commission that would serve as a watchdog to oversee implementation needs to be established before the proposed Interception and Monitoring Bill becomes law.
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 Cape Telecommunications Users Forum wishes noted the following technology related implications of the Interception and Monitoring Bill:
a) CTUF wishes to commend Government in that compliance to the Interception and Monitoring Bill will ensure that service providers are technically and legally competent to offer their telecommunication services to the market. We also support and encourage mandatory privacy policies for all communications service providers.
b) However, it is noted that the technical design of new telecommunication and communications technologies may need to ensure that compliance to the Interception and Monitoring Bill is adhered to before those technologies can be implemented in the market. This may not necessarily limit technological innovation in this sector but may impact negatively on the commercial application of new technologies in the market.
See: http://www.ctuf.za.org.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
[?]
DRotU