Jobbik raises concern over government plans for “spy network”
Published on Wednesday, 13 February 2013 12:37 Written by MTI
Radical nationalist Jobbik has raised concerns that the government was planning the launch of a “spy network” by merging top-secret databases, but the ministry in charge said late on Tuesday it was doing “nothing of the sort”.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement sent to MTI that the project in question aimed to extend and support a data mining system which has been operating since 2008.
“The system is not fit to monitor private communications,” the statement said, adding that an expiring licence was the main reason for going ahead with the expansion.
The relevant parliamentary committees will have full access to the system’s documentation, the statement said.
The Jobbik member of parliament’s national security committee, Adam Mirkoczki, told MTI earlier that the defence committee, of which he was also a member, had already approved a proposal to launch a 155-million-forint IT development which would enable the merging of top-secret agency databases.
Mirkoczki said the programme was tantamount to setting up a “spy network” consisting of databases of unprecedented complexity, which will be able to gain access even to private communications.
The procurement of the IT system will be exempted from public procurement protocols, Mirkoczki said, adding it had been approved by the governing majority in the committee.
The new programme will coordinate access to databases of the Organised Crime Centre, the National Police Headquarters, the Counter-Terrorism Centre and the Constitution Protection Office, he said.
Jobbik called on the Interior Minister to give an account of who will operate and monitor the new system under whose authority and legal protocols, Mirkoczki said.
Credit: Politics