Telecom operators heavily critical of Telecommunications Act

Domestic telecom operators say that the Telecommunications Act, which took effect in January this year, violates the Constitution and is detrimental to the companies. The Polish Confederation of Private Employers (PKPP), on behalf of disgruntled operators, has challenged the Act in the Constitutional Tribunal. The bone of contention is the provision under which telecom operators are obliged to reveal, to security services, information transmitted via their networks, and archive all data they transmit. Operators point to the fact that the regulations are virtually 'inactive' as no executive regulations exist to put them in force, and claim that sticking to the law would also mean violating the right to privacy, economic freedom and democracy. On top of that, the cost of adapting telecom equipment to the new demands cannot even be estimated, as the regulations are "very imprecise." (Parkiet, p. 4) J.K.