Media reports about the United States government?s communications interception and online spying activities raised concerns globally, and the situation in South Africa is no different if local experts are to be believed.
Mike Silber, a legal telecoms expert, said that the situation in South Africa may be far worse than in the United States.
Silber recently told the Mail & Guardian that RICA (the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act) made it easy for government to intercept private communications.
?One element of lawful ?interception is so-called ?live? interception. This is where calls, e-mails, web sessions and other communication are forwarded to the Office of Interception Centres pursuant to a warrant so that the content of the communication is available,? Silber told the Mail & Guardian.
South African communications interception
One of the easiest ways for government to gain access to a person?s private communications is to approach a telecoms operator.
While the mobile operators may not store voice and SMS communications, having historical records on which numbers were communicated with can be useful.
Intercepting mobile and fixed line communications without the knowledge of the user can also be of valuable for law enforcement, government agencies and the like.
MyBroadband asked South Africa?s operators how many requests they are receiving to intercept the communications of their subscribers, and what communications government can gain access to.
The lack of concrete information about communications interception from some operators, including Telkom, may raise some concern among South African citizens.
Richard Boorman
Vodacom spokesperson Richard Boorman said that they are strictly bound by various regulations with respect to surveillance orders. These regulations include RICA and the Criminal Procedure Act.
?Surveillance cannot take place without our knowledge and authorization. There?s no ?back door? through which an agencies have automatic access to communications or to records,? said Boorman.
Vodacom could also not disclose the exact number of requests it receives per year, but Boorman said that ?it is fair to say that we get a significant number of requests from various regulatory bodies on an annual basis?.
Robert Madzonga
Robert Madzonga, chief corporate service officer at MTN SA, said that the interception of a call in South Africa may only legitimately be done in terms of the provisions of the RICA Act.
?MTN only acts when served with a validly issued judge?s directive in terms of the RICA Act,? said Madzonga.
MTN would, however, not comment on the number of judges directives it has received. ?We regard the information as confidential,? said Madzonga.
?Kindly approach the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development to comment on the number of judges directives that may have been issued,? he added.
Cell C sidestepped questions about communications intercept requests from government, only saying that it ?adheres to all legal prescripts required under legislation, including the request of a court order or warrant, when providing information to the State?.
Cell C did not answer questions on how many intercept requests it received, how many of these requests came from government or what communications access they provide to government.
Telkom, Neotel, and iBurst mum on communications interception
The following operators did not provide information about the number of communications intercept request on their network, what subscriber information they provide access to and whether they allow communication interception without a court order:
MyBroadband also asked the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for comment on the interception of communications from South African citizens, but the department did not respond by the time of publication.
More on online spying
Online spying requests to ADSL ISPs in SA
Online spying: SA far worse than US
Government spyware servers in South Africa: Telkom, Govt mum
Spyware servers in South Africa: the plot thickens
Google wants to reveal more about closely guarded gov demands
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