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The dangerous ambiguity of communications encryption rules in Colombia

Document Citado por Related
Vincent
AutorJuan Diego Castañeda Gómez
Páginas38-40

Page 38

See note 15

In Colombia, the discussion about the legitimacy of using encrypted communications must start from the fact that there is already legislation on the matter.

It is not unusual that, with attacks such as those in Paris against the satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo,’ governments react by promising legislation that would increase the powers of the police and intelligence services. On this occasion, the Minister of the Interior of the French Government, Manuel Valls, said that new measures against terrorism are necessary. On the other hand, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has proposed measures against private communications encryption, so that "blocked areas" for security agencies should not exist.

Of course, such proposals have been criticized because, among others, the privacy of communications strengthened by encryption is an essential guarantee for the realization of the rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Interestingly, the latter was the right that occupied the media coverage of the attack on the French magazine.

In Colombia, the discussion about the legitimacy of using encrypted communications must start from the fact that there is already legislation on the matter.

In the case of encrypted cell phone communications, the legislation has two areas. On the one hand, operators can only provide encryption service to certain government oficials. On the other, sending encrypted and encoded messages are banned. Let’s take a look.

The Intelligence and Counterintelligence Act (Law No. 1621 of 2013) provides that telecommunications services providers must offer encrypted voice call service to high government and intelligence oficials. This means that a very small segment of the population can acquire the encryption service, leaving out, for example, journalists and Human Rights activists.

Moreover, since 1997, users of "communications equipment that use the electromagnetic spectrum", besides needing a "subscription card" by

Page 39

the operator, have limited the use of these for personal purposes and banned sending "encrypted messages or in unintelligible language" (Article 1, Law No. 1738 of 2014 in which Article 102 of Law No. 418 of 1997 is extended).

The text of this statute was approved for the irst time in 1993 and was revived four years later. In addition, it has been continuously renewed until today (in 2014, its validity was established until 2018). In addition to this norm, others...

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