PTA ordered telecoms to implement mass surveillance system: Court documents reveal
1. Known as LIMS, this system allows access to private messages, video/audio content, call records, and web browsing histories
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) recently discovered that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had mandated telecom companies to finance, import, and install the Lawful Intercept Management System (LIMS) for mass surveillance of citizens' data. This system allows access to private messages, video/audio content, call records, and web browsing histories. The surveillance directive from the PTA required telecom companies to monitor 2% of their customer base, potentially affecting over four million citizens simultaneously.
Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC, in an order dated June 26, noted that LIMS was being used by “designated agencies” without legal basis and without judicial or executive oversight. While LIMS provides access to SMS, call data, and encrypted data, it does not offer automated decryption for encrypted data.
**How LIMS Works:**
- A “designated” law enforcement agency initiates a track and trace request for a customer's data.
- The request is processed through LIMS automatically, and private information such as SMS and call data is reported back to the agency.
- Surveillance includes listening to voice calls, reading SMS messages, reviewing and storing audio and video content, and details of web pages browsed by consumers.
The IHC has temporarily barred telecom companies from letting LIMS access their networks or from procuring consumer data. The PTA has been directed to file a sealed report detailing how LIMS was procured and installed, its operation, and the entities and individuals with access to it. A show-cause notice has been issued to PTA’s members and its chairman for “making misrepresentations with regard to the Lawful Intercept Management System.”
Ramsha Jahangir, a journalist and digital rights activist, criticized the system as a significant breach of user privacy and highlighted the alarming secrecy surrounding its deployment and use. The IHC's order compared the mass surveillance system to George Orwell's “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” emphasizing its invasive nature and the lack of lawful authorization. The hearing has been adjourned until September, with further scrutiny of the PTA's actions expected.
