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Your Calls May Soon Be Monitored- NCC
Aug 30 2014 at 01:37am
In view of the unstable security situation in the country, the
Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says security
agencies will soon commence monitoring of all calls to
enhance their operational activities in the country.
This Commission announced this recently at a special
edition of Consumer Outreach programme organized by the
commission at IBB Golf Club, Maitama, Abuja.
According to the commission, plans are in the offing to come
up with a guideline that will guide the take-off of the plan in
such a way that no subscriber’s right or privacy would be
breached in the process.
Though, the Commission promised to ensure full protection
of the rights of every consumer through the proposed
guidelines, it however noted that there is no enabling law at
the moment to guide the operators on such powers and
called for a quick enactment of legislations to give the
proposed guideline a legal backing by the time the
implementation proper kicks off. According to the
commission’s legal adviser, Mrs. Yetunde Akinloye, “In view
of the worrisome security situation in the country, the
security agencies are about to key into peoples’
conversation. We as a regulatory agency are coming with
guidelines that will guide the operators on this. Though, at
the moment, we do not have a law to guide how the
operators should keep consumers privacy in conversation,
we also need this guideline. to enhance the smooth
implementation of the plan.”
Recall that last year Senator Isa Galaudu, PDP Kebbi North
sponsored a bill entitled A Bill for an Act to Provide for
Interception, Development and Protection of
Communications Networks and Facilities for Public Interest
and Other Related Matters 2013.
The bill seeks to give legal backing to relevant national chief
security officers, national security agency, Department of
State Services and Police to intercept communications
considered prejudicial to national security or public interest.
The bill passed second reading in the upper legislative
chamber of the National Assembly and was referred to the
Senate committees on Communication, Judiciary and
National Security for further legislative input.
However, though the bill generated serious condemnations
from different quarters going by wide spread fears of
privacy breach it could bring about, it received
overwhelming support in the Senate, in September last year.
But the NCC is promising that the soon to be released
guidelines will take care of fears of privacy breach and
ensure that the process does not affect genuine
conversations.
In his opening remarks, the Executive Commissioner,
Technical Services, Engr. Ubale Maska said since the
establishment of the Consumer Affairs Bureau, in 2001, the
Commission had taken several initiatives to address
numerous challenges consumers are facing by coming up
with projects that will ensure and guarantee that consumer
are well informed, educated and protected at all times.
Also corroborating him, Director Consumer Affairs Bureau of
the Commission, Mrs. Maryam Bayi said, the Commission
had made remarkable strides in its bid to protect the
interest of telecom consumers, not just as a fulfillment of its
mandate but also as commitment to ensure that Nigerian
telecoms consumers get value for their money.
she explained that the Commission had come up with a
number of regulations and initiatives for the purpose of
protecting the telecom consumer interest. They include: the
establishment of regulations on consumer code of practice,
quality of service, enforcement, mobile number portability
among others.
Also speaking, the Assistant Director of Public Affairs, Mr.
Reuben Muoka described the regulation of the Nigerian
telecom sector as a delicate balance for the commission
Muoka noted that the consumer outreach programme of the
commission has not only made Nigerian consumers the
most celebrated among other consumers in Nigerian
economy but has also been recognized by the International
telecommunication Union, ITU as an innovative initiative
helping the commission to alleviate consumers problems.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/calls-may-soon-
monitored/
