Zimbabwe: Mugabe enacts law to spy on phones, 'net, mail

[L. Coyote]

Zimbabwe: Mugabe enacts law to spy on phones, 'net, mail
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/05/zimbabwe_mugabe_enac.html


In the southern African nation of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe has enacted a law granting state security agents full authority to surveil landline and mobile phones, postal mail and what little internet is available anyway, according to a government notice published on Friday. Snip from wire service report:

The law gives police and the departments of national security, defence intelligence and revenue powers to order the interception of communications and provides for the creation of a monitoring centre.

Postal, telecommunications and internet service providers will be required to ensure that their "systems are technically capable of supporting lawful interceptions at all times".

Critics have said the law is a government ploy to keep tabs on the opposition .........

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. If the US does it, why not every other dictatorship? n/t

[L. Coyote]

2. Because we do it for them?

Since we do not respect the rights of anyone outside the USA, where we spy with impunity,
one should ask how many dictators have relied on US intelligence for info on their opposition?

[MasonJar]

3. Mugabe and Bush....now there is a deadly duo!

[peacetalksforall]

4. That makes the U.S. and Zimbabwe pioneers? At this minute, there

is probably someone from the commercial dept of the Pentagon on the way to Zimbabwe to sell them some high tech spying tools paid by the U.S. taxpayers. Or maybe trade? We'll give you this if you buy 2 jets and turn the people's water and minerals over to Bechtel with a good word thrown in to the IMF to make it easy to get a loan.

If Echelon is U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand, Australis and Israel? - doesn't it mean that they are all spying on their citizens?

So are all the pioneers Zimbabwe, U.S., U.K., Canada, NZ, Aus, Israel?

Just like Nazi Germany, USSR, People's Republic - except it's all high tech now.