Sweden Has Tapped Phones ‘For Decades’
March 10th, 2007Via: The Local:
Deputy prime minister Maud Olofsson has added a new twist to Sweden’s divisive surveillance debate. The Centre Party leader claims that defence minister Mikael Odenberg’s proposed legislation would merely codify practices that have already been in operation for decades.
Previously, at a time when all telecommunications were state-operated, Sweden’s National Defence Radio Establishment (Försvarets Radioanstalt – FRA) regularly tapped telephone lines in and out of the country, says Olofsson.
It was only when Telia became a registered company that the need for legislation arose, she says.
“Sweden has always listened in as a means of ensuring that we have had the information necessary to protect national security. I don’t think that is a secret,” said Olofsson at a press conference on Friday.
