French Judiciary Says Providing Security Agencies with Complete Telecom Data Violates Privacy
A delegation that recently visited France to view the modern mechanisms in intercepting phone calls came back with results contradictory to what the government decided regarding allowing the security agencies to benefit from the telecom data to track crimes.
According to local newspapers published on Wednesday, French authorities pointed out that such a decision would violate the constitution and the privacy of the citizens.
Head of the Shura Council Judge Shukri Sader and several officers and telecom technicians held meetings with Lebanese officials briefing them on the information they took from French authorities regarding this matter.
As Safir newspaper reported that the competent French judiciary said that the telecom data “is part of the freedom of communication that the French and Lebanese constitutions preserve, therefore, the security agencies have no right to obtain the full telecom data.”
The daily said that the French authorities noted that the security agencies can only obtain the telecommunication data of certain phone numbers and for “justified reasons.”
The delegation also informed officials that the norms require the security agencies to explain the results they reached after analyzing the data, “if the results don’t fulfill the purpose the data was taken for then the side that demanded to acquire the data would be held accountable.”
A security source told An Nahar newspaper that obtaining the telecom data wouldn’t be useful if the Lebanese authorities didn’t consult the legal French judicial references concerning the legality of the matter in light of the developments.
The March 14 alliance has constantly demanded the cabinet to approve providing the telecom data to security agencies to uncover the security incidents in Lebanon after MP Butros Harb and Lebanese Forces Leader Samir Geagea were the targets of a murder attempts.
The government agreed on the demands of the opposition, however, President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the concerned ministers, judges and senior security officials decided to delegate a team to France to view the French judicial authorities’ stance over the matter.
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/51596 |