Minister for Communications Haruna Iddrisu has dismissed allegations of phone tapping in the country. Mr Iddrisu advised Ghanaians to disregard the claims that their telephone conversations were being listened to, as none of the telecommunication companies operating in Ghana was indulging in such practice.<\/p>\n
He said the current claim by a section of the public that their telephone conversations were being monitored or tapped was not true. \u201cGhanaians are being lured into a false sense of insecurity that their calls or conversations are being monitored or recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deception emanates when people erroneously think that hearing noises on their telephone lines such as clicks, static or distance voices means their lines are being tapped, but the Minister clarified that most tapping devises did not emit audible sounds.<\/p>\n
The laws of Ghana do not allow eavesdropping or tapping of telephone conversations by any person or institution, including the National Security and the telecommunication entities.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot even lawful interception of telephone conversation is permissible in Ghana,\u201d the minister said when he appeared before Parliament yesterday to answer questions relating to his ministry.<\/p>\n
His response was in reaction to a question posed on behalf of the Member of Parliament for Evalue-Gwira, Catherine Abelema Afeku, who wanted to know if any of the six telecommunication companies operating in the country had a device that recorded, listened into or tapped conversations of their customers.<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that the Campaign Coordinator for Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings\u2019 presidential bid, Michael Teye Nyaunu, made allegations that the former first couple\u2019s mobile phones and that of her campaign team\u2019s were being tapped by the National Security operatives to monitor their campaign strategy.<\/p>\n
Phone tapping involves more than just eavesdropping on calls. It includes the download of text messages received and sent while in some technologically advanced countries, it is even possible to use an application that makes it possible to hear conversations going on near the cell phone.<\/p>\n
The minister explained that in Ghana, Mobile Cellular Licence requires telecommunication operators to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of all their subscribers, which means that doing otherwise would result in a breach of the law.<\/p>\n
Under the Mobile Cellular Licence, operators are expected to maintain confidentiality \u201cand refrain from using or disclosing any confidential, personal and proprietary information obtained in the course of its business from any user\u2026 unless the customer has given his or her consent to such use or disclosure\u201d.<\/p>\n
Reading portions of enquiries made by his ministry, Mr Iddrisu stated that all the telecommunications companies operating in Ghana had confirmed that they did not have any device or installation that recorded or listened into the conversations of people who used their services.<\/p>\n
The National Communications Authority (NCA), the main regulators of the telecommunications industry, he said, had also noted that it was not aware of the existence of devices that listened into telephone conversations.<\/p>\n
When asked if any efforts were being made to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claim by the telecommunication operators, the minister gave assurance that the NCA would soon be directed to carry out an audit of the switches of the operators.<\/p>\n
In accordance with article 18 (2) of the 1992 constitution, Mr Iddrisu stated that his ministry acknowledged the importance of privacy rights of communication users and \u201cwe will continue to ensure that the rights to the privacy of communications is respected and upheld at all times\u201d.<\/p>\n
The minister admitted that there was technical interference in the telephone conversations of communication subscribers but explained that the phenomenon was called \u201ccross talk\u201d created by the coupling of signals from other people phone users.<\/p>\n
Telecommunication operators claim data, such as duration of call and time of call, are generally automatically collected on all calls and stored for billing purposes.<\/p>\n
However, the minister observed that the availability of technologically advanced phones such as smart phones which have features that allowed their users to record conversations was making it possible for people to record a conversation without the other party\u2019s knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is nothing illegal about one of the parties to a telephone call recording the conversation between them, as is largely the case in Ghana,\u201d he said, noting, \u201cThis will clearly be a breach of trust between the persons having the telephone conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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