Geneva is the top phone tapping canton in the country.
Figures released by Telecommunications Correspondence Monitoring Service show last year there were 223 real-time interceptions -out of 1,200 across the country.
Real time means a phone conversation was listened in to while it was underway.
The next most active was Zurich, with 212 taps.
The number of interceptions from one year to the next remained fairly stable. This is reassuring according to a member of the National Security Policy Commission, MP Francois Pointet. He says the risks of a drift to more surveillance remains low.
The reasons for the phone tapping were to fight financial crime, at around 30%. The rest split between drug offences, murder and rape.
A judge’s approval is needed for a phone tap.
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