March 11, 2020
Ministry justifies wiretapping for national security
The law enforcement officers have the right to tap private communications when it is deemed to be jeopardising national security, officials said.

Some have speculated in the past years conversations were already being recorded in secrecy since some politicians’ phone conversations were leaked on social media, with some experts questioning whether it breaks the Kingdom’s privacy laws.

Interior Ministry spokesman General Khieu Sopheak yesterday said the authorities have the right to record phone conversations if they are deemed to be jeopardising national security.

“People should be careful when having conversations on telephone,” Gen Sopheak said. “If something is considered to be affecting national security, the authorities have the right to record it.”

“Other countries are implementing it, too. If they say something affecting the national security, we have the right to make arrests,” he added. “The US is stricter than us.”

When asked if such implementation will violate the Law on Telecommunications, Gen Sopheak did not directly answer the question but replied it was being done for national security.

“When you are speaking with me, a third party may also hear our conversation,” he said. “This is not a secret conversation at all,” he added.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50700265/m ... l-security

Governments been doing this since telephones were invented, nothing new