Minister denies plans for bill increasing powers to monitor phone and internet use

The minister of industry and trade, Martin Riman, has strongly denied press reports that he is preparing a bill aimed at providing the secret services with easier access to data at the disposal of internet and telephone operators. On Thursday the newspaper Pravo said that the bill would allow both the counter-intelligence and military intelligence to monitor information on phone and internet communication. However, a spokesperson for Mr Riman said the minister had always been opposed to broadening the powers of the security services to the detriment of citizens’ privacy.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade took over the bailiwick of telecommunications following the abolition of a short-lived ministry of information technology.