From: "Maurice Wessling" <maurice@XS4ALL.NL>
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 10:51:18 +0000
Subject: File 1--Digital wiretapping in the Netherlands
PRESS RELEASE
XS4ALL Internet
Monday, April 6th 1998
Dutch parliament about to approve tapping paragraph after
pressure from Internal Security Agency.
A letter from the Internal Security Agency (BVD) to the leaders
of the four largest parties in parliament has played a key role
in ensuring that in all likelyhood, a majority of dutch
parliament will vote to include a controversial paragraph in the
new telecommunications law. In an attempt to secure government
access to telecommunication between citizens, the new
telecommunications law includes a paragraph that, among other
things, forces ISPs to make their networks tappable, at their
own expense.
In the letter, the BVD stresses the need for expansion of its
tapping capabilities. The dutch labour party (PvdA), the largest
party in The Netherlands, withdrew its objections against the law
upon receiving the letter.
Internet Service Providers, legal experts, business community
representatives, and the dutch government privacy watchdog
organization have expressed concern over the extention of tapping
capabilities for police and intelligence organizations. The new
law places a large financial burden on providers. Furthermore,
the necessity to expand the tapping capabilities was not
documented or argumented for.
XS4ALL, one of the countries largest ISPs has appealed to
parliament on several occasions to postpone the tapping paragraph
(chapter 13 of the new law) until the minister properly documents
the need for such radical changes. Of the large parties, only
D'66 will vote for postponing the tapping paragraph
Maurice Wessling <maurice@xs4all.nl>
Public Affairs
XS4ALL Internet
Amsterdam, Netherlands
--
pub 1024/D9C69DF9 1997/10/14 Steve Mynott <steve@tightrope.demon.co.uk>
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Received on Fri Apr 17 08:41:08 1998