Legal grounds founded for gov’t to wiretap social media contacts

Following the passing of a law allowing interceptions of communications, the government has set up a legal ground for it to request communication records from social media operators.

Officially referred to as the Legal Regime for the Interception and Protection of Communications, the draft law was passed by the parliament on July 22, and will be enacted into law on August 1.

In defense of the necessity of the law, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak cited precedents that when the government had previously wanted social media platforms, including but not limited to Facebook and WhatsApp, to surrender parts or all of their communication records, the government would be asked for legal grounds. Previous laws were not amply clear in this respect, he added.

He then warned that in similar scenarios in the future, there would be legal grounds for the government to demand such data from service providers, even if they are not located or headquartered in Macau.

Lawmaker Ron Lam, not only at this plenary, but also in previous written commentaries, issued a reminder about the private nature of communication data. He urged the government to introduce an independent supervising body to monitor the approval of each request for data interception.

However, Wong disagreed with the lawmaker. He even cited the judiciary’s authority to deny Lam’s request, saying that all future data interception must be approved either prior to or following the operation by a judge of law.

On the other hand, the lawmaker also wanted the law to mandate law-enforcement agencies to periodically disclose figures on requested and approved interceptions.

Wong did not find this proposal feasible. He said that in addition to the police, the Commission Against Corruption is also responsible for criminal investigations. “The police will not have all the statistics,” Wong said, despite the lawmaker asking for “law-enforcement agencies” to make disclosures.

In addition, Wong said the judiciary announced three-year figures on the number of interceptions that were requested and approve in 2018 and invited Lam to enquire with the court at his own convenience.

This law allows each interception to last three months at most for each approved application, but law-enforcement agencies will be allowed to apply for extensions. Each application must be approved by a judge of law prior to the interception unless delays will cause irreversible damage to investigations.

Wong, as an official in the executive branch, assured lawmakers that judges would not approve applications for interceptions targeting unrelated subjects.

Wong reiterated in the online parliamentary plenary meeting that the law was intensively rigorous.