OTA Director Zoran Angelovski in an interview with MIA says he is satisfied with the way the Operational-Technical Agency operates, which he says was established to prevent any misuse of electronic communications interception. He points out that there is no possibility of “bombs” or “Big Ear” happening again.

OTA provides a technical connection between the operators and the authorities, but it should be emphasized that OTA does not have the technical capability to access the content of the intercepted communication, which means that OTA is not wiretapping. Technical connectivity is provided solely on the basis of a court order for the purpose of conducting interception of communications in accordance with the Law on Interception on Communications, ie OTA acts only on a court order, he said.

Asked in how many cases in 2019 OTA technically mediated the activation of the communications interception measure and whether some of them were conducted upon SPO’s request, the director said:

In September 2019, including September, OTA technically mediated the activation of the communications interception measure in a total of 369 communications.

Namely, OTA does not make any difference as to where the request for interception of communications originates, it is important that there is a proper court order. Whether the request comes from the Public Security Bureau, the National Security Agency or any other authorized body, it does not matter for OTA, Director Angelovski said in an interview with MIA.