The Home Affairs Ministry is analysing the law regulating the Malta Security Service, with a view of strengthening oversight on its day-to-day wire-tapping capability.

The move comes after telecoms giant Vodafone on Friday released a tell-all report in which it revealed that its networks are completely accessible to intelligence agencies in the countries where it operates.

The document re-ignited the debate about the oversight of the security service in Malta, with legal experts arguing the legislation in place opens some concerns, particularly with regards to the day-to-day oversight of the agency.

Asked to comment about these concerns, a spokeswoman for the Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said the ministry would be “analysing the Malta Security Services Act to see if the oversight mechanisms could be strengthened”. She insisted, however, that some media reports on the Vodafone document were misleading as they suggested widespread wiretapping of the Maltese population.

The question of oversight has become fundamental to this discussion, particularly following the Snowden affair, Nationalist Party spokesman Jason Azzopardi pointed out. He argued that while the law enables the Security Service to intercept communications, it also stipulates that a warrant is needed for every single case.

“Since the Security Service actually controls the system, it is technically capable to intercept communications without obtaining the warrant and nobody would know,” he said.

A source who was associated with the Security Service in the past, who spoke anonymously, insisted that the agency is extremely judicious in the use of wiretapping. “This idea that the people at the security service are tapping people at will is a myth that people seem to like to believe it. It’s just not like that,” he said. He pointed out that the agency is subject to regular scrutiny from its overseeing commissioner, who is currently retired judge Frank Camilleri.

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