Cyprus Mail 24 January 2020 - article by Evie Andreou
The House plenum on Friday passed into law the bill on phone tapping, that allows authorities to conduct phone surveillance of suspects.
The bill, which has been under discussion for years, was finally tabled at the House plenum to vote after several postponements.
It was passed with some amendments.
Allowing the authorities to carry out phone surveillance had been a long-standing demand by crimefighters.
MPs said earlier in the week that the law would come into force after the appointment of the three-member committee which will be submitting the requests for lifting of the confidentiality of telecommunications data.
The request will be subject to the approval of the attorney-general, while a court order will be issued after the court is satisfied that the conditions are met.
Among the latest additions to the bill was inserting strict safeguards so that the phone tapping is limited to the purposes of the law only to avoid abuse of the practice.
President Nicos Anastasiades had said earlier in the month that voting the bill into law allowing authorities to conduct phone surveillance would be a crucial development in solving crimes.
