Media allowed to wiretap officials' phones

The top officials of the state will be under the hood of journalists.

Journalists were allowed to wiretap officials and politicians. True, to Czech journalists, not Russian ones.

According to the amendment to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data, from this month of August, Czech media have the opportunity to publish materials obtained as a result of wiretapping telephone conversations. True, not all, but those related to the criminal activities of politicians and officials.

Local journalists have, of course, resorted to similar tactics before. For example, thanks to wiretapping, it became known about the contacts of a large organized crime group in the country with one of the deputies of the republic’s parliament. Or about the attempt to bribe another deputy by then Prime Minister Mirek Topolank, who discussed these financial nuances in a telephone conversation with his assistant. All this happened. But previously, such leaks threatened journalists with criminal prosecution. Now wiretapping is legalized.

In the Czech Republic they hope that this will help the country get rid of corruption. I believe that they have reasons for this. Try asking for a bribe if you are at gunpoint at the microphones.

What do we have? President Medvedev pushed through a law on personal data, the disclosure of which can be punished. It's not even a wiretap. For a moment, this data even includes First Name and Last Name. That is, in order to put pressure on an unwanted journalist in Russia, it is now enough to reproach him for calling the president by his last name. He gave away his information, you scoundrel. What can we say about articles that mention the affiliation of officials with some companies. This is especially personal data, it is marked not just, but “especially secret”. So bribes are now under reliable protection.

And I would introduce a law in Russia similar to the Czech one. At least for a year, for the sake of experiment. I would have launched “White House-3” on TV instead of “House-2”, so that cameras could monitor the ministers around the clock. It would also be interesting with ratings.

Does anyone doubt that the situation in the country would change for the better after such a project? For example, I don't. And, I think, ministers too. That is why they will never do this.