Control of politicians
— #17 Prohibition of using encrypted phones and anonymous communication for politicians
Politicians should not be allowed to use encrypted phones nor means of anonymous communication.*
* Anonymous communication refers to any form of communication in which persons can exchange message via fictitious or non-personal boxes, profiles or accounts. The following can serve as an example of the means of anonymous communication: mailbox (xyz123@email.cz), fictitious or false profiles on social networks, for instance on Facebook, or internet communication accounts, such as Skype accounts. If a minister and a "political entrepreneur" communicate through anonymous Skype accounts , they do not have to fear that they would be discovered since contents of such communication almost cannot be detected. Moreover, even if the contents of such communication were detected, it would not be easy to prove that the communication took place between those two persons because due to the use of anonymous accounts this communication will not be attributable to the concrete identifiable persons).
If politicians were not allowed to use encrypted telephones nor other means of anonymous communication, it would not be possible for them to communicate with political entrepreneurs without any risk of being revealed. Until politicians are allowed to use encrypted telephones their communication will continue to be inaccessible to criminal law enforcement authorities, and thus outside the reach of law and justice.
Sources:
- Vondráček, O., Havrda, M., 21 recipes – Anti-corruption cookbook, Recipe 2: Monitoring of lobbied politicians through public electronic diary, December 2013
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