By Jamal Adel, Ali Salem and Ajnadin Mustafa.

Tripoli, 18 November 2014:

Libya telecommunications company LTT has been told by the Hassi antigovernment to give it access to its databases so it can track individuals using their IP addresses.

The Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Libyan Company for Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Holding, Majdi Ali Toumi Shaibani, ordered LTT to coordinate with Hassi's Ministry of Communications and with security forces by providing data to help them track "criminals".

In a letter addressed to the LTT’s chairman, Shaibani ordered the following:

  • Access to the database of Libya’s phone system
  • Access to LTT’s wi-max and ADSL systems
  • Access to IP addresses of criminal suspects in order to pinpoint their locations
  • Blocking of “suspicious” sites – for example, pornographic, Christian and atheist sites.
The demand is seen as a bid by the Hassi regime to monitor and locate those who do not support it.

LTT has, in the past, blocked some culturally offensive websites.