In the case of bomb threats and for rescue operations: the Federal Council expands supervision

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The Federal Council will bring into force amendments to the law on the supervision of postal and telecommunications traffic on January 1, 2024, as it announced on Wednesday. The aim is to locate more accurately in view of any gaps resulting from new technologies such as 5G telephone and internet data and to ensure effective law enforcement, as the Federal Council writes.

However, the proposal was heavily criticized during the consultation, especially from digitally savvy and left-wing circles. It was feared that the adjustment would lead to an expansion of supervision. A particular stumbling block was the suggestion that providers of communications services such as WhatsApp, Threema or Signal should be forced to remove the encryption from their chats when monitoring is ordered.

The pirates are critical

The digitally savvy Pirate Party saw the design as “the introduction of chat control through the back door”. After the consultation, the Federal Council decided not to take this measure for the time being.

However, he maintains three new types of information and four new types of monitoring. For example, one of the information types makes it possible to track calls from anonymous bomb threats. Two others are used to request identification data from 5G technology – one of them in real time.

The four new monitoring types enable precise positioning in mobile communications during emergency searches or real-time monitoring. This is useful, for example, in emergency searches for people whose lives are in danger.

Authorities want to gain faster access to data

In addition, the adjustment should allow law enforcement authorities to access the data they need more quickly. Until now, telecommunications service providers had one day to respond to an authority’s request.

In practice, the authorities found this period too long if they made urgent requests to identify perpetrators during weekends or holidays, the Federal Council writes. This period is therefore reduced to six hours.

The adjustments concern the regulations for the supervision of postal and telecommunications traffic, the regulations for the processing system for the supervision of postal and telecommunications traffic and the regulations of the Ministry of Justice regarding the implementation of the supervision of postal and telecommunications traffic.

Those affected will have 24 months to implement most changes. The original plan was for between 12 and 18 months. (SDA)

Source:Blick