The law overseeing government use of surveillance technology is ill-conceived, outdated and does not offer citizens enough protection, according to the new UN Special Rapporteur on Privacy.

Joe Cannataci told the Times of Malta the legal mechanism in place allowed the government to grant itself permission to use surveillance equipment without providing an adequate level of independent oversight.

Prof. Cannataci, who heads the department of information policy and governance at the University of Malta, said the law had only been changed once in the last 19 years and its fundamental defects were not addressed.

He was speaking after leaked e-mails revealed that the security service had met with representatives of a controversial hacking company in Prague last month to discuss a demonstration of the firm’s spy software in Malta.

The government has denied anything resulted from the meetings, insisting the technology used by the Malta Security Service was bought under the previous administration and has not changed since.

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