DutchNews.nl - Minister may remove telephone-tapped's right to know

Justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin has told MPs he is considering scrapping the rule which says the security service has to inform people their telephones have been tapped after the tap has been removed.

In practice, those whose phones have been tapped are often hard to track down and there are enough other opportunities open to people to find out if their phone conversations have been listened into, the minister said.

Nor is there any requirement in European or human rights law to let people know their phones have been tapped.

Scrapping the requirement would also save the security services a considerable amount of work, the minister was reported as saying.

The justice ministry authorised taps on 26,425 telephones in 2008, more than in any other country in the world. The figure does not include the number of taps operated by the security services, which is considered to be a state secret.

Unlike in many countries, the Netherlands allows the police to record all conversations made by crime suspects, including calls to their lawyers. Several court cases have come unstuck in recent years because officials have failed to destroy recordings of such conversations as they are supposed to by law.

If they have the telephone number to tap it, surely they could call the person and tell them they were tapped -- what stupidity! Wouldn't it make more sense to remove the right for the security service to tap so many phones?

By Quest | April 9, 2010 8:40 AM

Interesting....

I am NOT allowed use video evidence from a camera I have set-up in my house in a Dutch court if a burglar is caught on camera in my home.

Yet the government IS allowed spy on me whilst I'm having a private conversation on my phone and use that as evidence in court. Especially if it's attorney-client privileged conversation!!!

Seems like the privacy laws in this country are a little inconsistent.

Furthermore, why on Earth are the Dutch spying on more of their population than any other country? Is it because the Liberal government here makes Holland a safe-haven for all the worlds leading criminals?

By Caycu | April 9, 2010 11:16 AM

If you are NOT breaking the law then our phone is NOT tapped. The Netherlands learned from the failing USA and their paranoia! The American republican party is one that feeds on fear, "keep them frightened and they are easy to control". I guess this is why liberals have higher IQ's and are not relig-o-bots!

By Paul Martin | April 9, 2010 12:34 PM