Right to privacy?
Is the Malaysian government and/or police continuously monitoring our internet usage - 'spying' on the websites we visit, monitoring our communications online, ....our e-mail, our online postings, sharing ,...W,hat else are they monitoring? Our phone calls, our banking transactions, our documents in our computer, etc ...Well, I am of the opinion that this is very wrong...and should stop.
This concern arises when the Malaysian police lately came out and revealed - that they are '...The police have set up a new unit to detect and locate traffic for online pornography – particularly child pornography – in real-time....“We will pick up those who visit these sites regularly. We use a software that was specially developed to allow us to identify, locate and track visits to porn sites, especially those involving child porn..."
While we may all be happy about the crackdown on the uploading, sharing,...of child pornography - but the fact that they will be monitoring everyone is most disturbing. And, if they are doing this, what is there to stop them from monitoring real time private communications and other activities of us all.
Even with regard to criminal investigations involving suspects, searches of premises for evidences requires a search warrant issued by the courts(Magistrate or judges)...only in exceptional circumstances are they allowed to do this without a search warrant...
For even the taking of blood, semen samples of even suspects require the CONSENT of the person. Remember also communications between lawyer and client is 'SECRET' - likewise, even doctor-client communications are 'secret' and confidential.
As such continuous on-line monitoring and compilation of information, even if it is to identify persons viewing, uploading, downloading and/or sharing 'child pornography' material is wrong. When and after a suspect is arrested and is being investigated, then maybe the investigating authorities can check his/her computer and its activities if there is the relevant court order and/or relevant requirements in law. But, a online monitoring generally cannot be expected even if it is for the identification of persons breaking the law.
1984 - Big Brother is Watching - well, it looks that the Malaysian government is doing that to us....and we will have to take a strong stand to protect our right to privacy. Our 'secrets' must remain our secrets.... STOP SPYING ON MALAYSIANS ...
There will be little protest about Malaysian governing blocking access to child pornography websites....but not OK if they are blocking access to other websites like the Wall Street Journal, Sarawak Report, Malaysian Chronicle ...or other websites that may have contents, opinions and information that may be critical of government, etc ...
...MCMC’s network security, new media monitoring, compliance and advocacy sector chief Fadhlullah Suhaimi Abdul Malek as saying that the commission had blocked 3,781 pornographic websites from 2014 until the end of March
The Malaysian government is already actively blocking access to pornographic websites - so, why monitor Malaysian's usage of the internet? Malaysian already have no access to child pornography ...and, if they still do, then the authorities must become more efficient in this 'blocking'...but really, emphasis must be made in education ...
RESPECT OUR PRIVACY !
Cops set up system to spy on porn surfers
The police have set up a new unit to detect and locate traffic for
online pornography – particularly child pornography – in real-time.
Speaking to the New Straits Times, Bukit Aman's Sexual,
Women and Child Investigation Division (D11) principal assistant
director Ong Chin Lan said the new Malaysia Internet Crime Against
Children Investigation Unit (Micac) will build a "data library" of
pornography users and their surfing preferences.
These details, Ong said, may come in handy if they are to be prosecuted later.
“We will pick up those who visit these sites regularly. We use a
software that was specially developed to allow us to identify, locate
and track visits to porn sites, especially those involving child porn.
“The intelligence we get will be passed on to the Communications and
Multimedia Commission (MCMC), so we can obtain the internet users’
details," she said, adding that those being monitored could be called in
for questioning or even arrested from their homes.
Internet users who view pornography from the "relative safety" of
their mobile phones will not be spared from scrutiny under this system.
The NST reporter who wrote the article was given a tour of
the monitoring system, which showed the IP address of those surfing porn
in balloon markers, their location, the websites they were on, the
material they have uploaded or downloaded, as well as the time the
content was accessed and the duration spent.
According to Ong, a Dutch police study has shown that close to 20,000
IP addresses on Malaysia had been actively uploading and downloading
explicit images and footage of minors, and established that Malaysia had
the highest number of people uploading and downloading child
pornography.
Micac has the power to seize mobile phones, computers or laptops to
check for pornographic material, on a "case to case basis" Ong said.
Officers of the D11 unit are being sent overseas for training with
the support of the US Department of Homeland Security and the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
Meanwhile, NST also quoted MCMC’s network security, new
media monitoring, compliance and advocacy sector chief Fadhlullah
Suhaimi Abdul Malek as saying that the commission had blocked 3,781
pornographic websites from 2014 until the end of March. - Malaysiakini, 9/7/2018
Experts laud new police system tracking child porn users
KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 —
The monitoring software used by a special police team to curb child
pornography can be a good starting point to initiate investigations,
experts said.
The technology experts also said authorities would not likely conduct mass surveillance or monitor general consumers of smut.
Security expert and technology blogger Keith Rozario said
the police’s software, Internet Crime Against Children — Child Online
Protective Services (ICACCOPS), should be welcomed for allowing law
enforcement agencies to share information, especially on the data of
peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
A
P2P connection is a network of computers configured to allow certain
files and folders to be shared with everyone or with selected users.
“ICACCOPS
is a system put in place by various authorities to allow for the
dissemination of data on P2P users who are sharing child pornography
material on these networks.
“In my opinion,
information sharing on ICACCOPS is a very good thing. If the police are
using it as a starting point for investigations, that should also be
applauded,” he told Malay Mail yesterday.
Rozario said, however,
that general Internet users should not be alarmed as police will not
likely use the system to monitor regular Internet usage outside of P2P
networks, amid perception that authorities would watch regular porn
users.
“The monitoring is
limited to a small set of P2P networks like bit-torrent, Ares and
Freenet. Your Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube and all other Internet
traffic is still very much private,” he said.
Rozario said while it is
easy to pinpoint an Internet Protocol (IP) address, it can be difficult
to tie the said address to an individual.
“It should not be
automatically assumed that everything flowing from an IP address belongs
to the individual subscriber who owns the account, as IP addresses are
shared,” he said.
According to a New Straits Times
report, the system would allow the police, particularly the Malaysia
Internet Crime Against Children Investigation Unit, to work with the
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to obtain
Internet users’ details.
The programme, developed
in the United States, would reflect real-time updates of the porn user’s
IP address, location, the name of the website where pornographic
material is uploaded or downloaded, and the duration spent.
It was reported that officers handling the system would be required to log in their registered credentials.
Cyber security expert Fong Chook Fook said mass surveillance was unlikely as it would incur a high cost on the government.
“The authorities conduct
targeted surveillance based on reports. The result of which led to
arrests of perpetrators involved in online scams, gambling and such.
Mass surveillance is just too resource-intensive,’’ he added.
Kuala Lumpur Bar
Information Technology Committee chairman Foong Cheng Leong said police
monitoring should only apply to targeted groups to avoid infringement of
a citizen's right to privacy.
“In absence of any express prohibition, it seems that the police has the right to monitor Internet usage
“However, as far as I
know, such monitoring is usually done by way of filtration, for instance
by using some keywords. The police basically capture all data with a
certain keyword associated with paedophilic and child abuse materials,”
he said.
Sinar Project co-founder
Khairil Yusof said the modus operandi of the system opens up discussions
on the privacy laws in place, or lack thereof, but expressed optimism
that the system could be beneficial if proven effective.
“In theory, if the cops
can use this system to end the distribution of child pornography, they
should also be able to fight digital piracy,” he said. - Malay Mail, 6/7/2018
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