FITUG e.V. Förderverein Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft

Proposed wiretap laws in South Africa

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date:          Sun, 13 Dec 1998 14:06:36 +0200 (SAST)
From:          Alan Barrett <apb@iafrica.com>
To:            cryptography@c2.net
Subject:       Proposed wiretap laws in South Africa

The South African Law Commission (a body that makes suggestions to the
central goverment about changes in legislation) has released a
discussion paper on interception and monitoring of electronic
communications.

Parts of the proposed legislation are reminiscent of the worst parts
of the US FBI-sponsored Digital Telephony legistation a few years ago:

  * Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no person ... may
    provide [any telecommunications service] which is not capable and
    does not have the capacity to be monitored

  * any person ... rendering a telecommunications service shall at own
    cost ... acquire ... facilities ... to enable the monitoring of
    conversations and communications ...

  * the investment ... and operating costs in enabling a
    telecommunications service to be capable of being mionitored,
    shall be carried by the person ... rendering such a service

  * duplicate signals ... shall be routed by the relevant person ...
  to
    the central monitoring centre, to be designated by ... [the
    police], [the military], [the National Intelligence Agency], [the
    South African Secret Service].

Whether Internet service providers are "telecommunication service
providers" in terms of relevant legislation is not entirely clear.

See the South African Law Commission web page at
l, and follow the links
to

   * Project 105
     Review of Security Legislation
     Discussion Paper 78
     The Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act 127 of 1992
     (November 1998)

or go directly to
f for the
paper in PDF format.

--apb (Alan Barrett)