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Government mulling law to regulate phone tapping

Presently, tapping takes place in the ambit of the Supreme Court’s guidelines, the violation of which could lead to cancellation of the licence of the company concerned.

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The UPA government is contemplating a law to regulate phone tapping by telecom operators.

Presently, tapping takes place in the ambit of the Supreme Court’s guidelines, the violation of which could lead to cancellation of the licence of the company concerned.

On Wednesday, prime minister Manmohan Singh had assured the corporate sector that well-defined rules on the controversial issue would be in place.

Sources in the home ministry said the proposal to have a law on the lines of the Communication Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), 1994, of the US is there, though it’s in a nascent phase. The legislation is likely to be introduced in Parliament during the budget session.

Section 103 of the CALEA defines the telecom service providers’ obligations in the event of phone tapping ordered by the authorities.

It provides that the service providers should expeditiously isolate all wire and electronic communications of a target transmitted by the carrier within its own service area.

The operators are expected to isolate call-identifying information of a target and provide intercepted communications and call-identifying information to the law enforcing agencies.   

The US law also makes it obligatory for the operators to carry out intercepts unobtrusively so that the targets are not made aware of the electronic surveillance, and in a manner that does not compromise the privacy and security of other communications.

In another related development, the government has decided, in principle, to set up a telecom security commission to act as a grievance redressal mechanism in the event of complaints arising out of phone-tapping and related activities.

Apart from the officials of the home ministry, the panel will include representatives of businesses and trade, particularly those in the telecommunication sector.

“The panel will look into the complaints and other telecommunication related issues that have bearing on the country’s security,” the sources added.

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