The creation of a new telecommunications investigative agency has some cyber activists raising concerns over the return of web surveillance in post-revolution Tunisia.
Tunisia’s Official Journal announced on November 12 the formation of the Technical Agency of Telecommunication (ATT) following an order from Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh. The agency’s mission is described as providing “technical support to judicial investigations in crimes against information technology systems.
The announcement sparked questions over the return of online surveillance and possibly censorship, especially by activists who had fought against it under the rule of toppled president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
The Ben Ali regime restricted Tunisians from accessing multiple popular Internet sites, including YouTube. Before his fall, Ben Ali’s last attempt to remain in power was announcing the end of online censorship on January 13.
The process of dismantling the censorship system took time after Ben Ali departed. However, rumors of government surveillance persist amid talk of continued phone tapping and other tactics by the current government.
Online censorship in Tunisia is known as “Ammar 404,” referring to the “404 Not Found” error censored blocked web pages display when accessed. Ammar is a common Tunisian male name used to describe the dictatorship and authority in general.
source: www.tunisia-live.net
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