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MALTATODAY 13 September 2020

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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS counts" and one would pre- sume other applications like WhatsApp is limited to "offi- cial business". The code clearly states that "ministers shall not conduct official business through un- official email accounts." The obligation to log such contacts with lobbyists is al- so extended to "correspondence involving unofficial email accounts, and messages through other appli- cations", as well as "informal meetings"; but this is only applicable to "relevant communication". In this context, the degree of familiarity would be even greater if it emerges that Zammit Lewis and Fenech met over meals during 2019, even after the businessman was exposed as the owner of the once-secret offshore company 17 Black. In Hyzler's proposed code of ethics "rel- evant matters" include the "initiation, de- velopment or modification of any pub- lic policy, action or programme." The preparation or amendment of laws and regulations, the award of any grant, loan or other form of financial support, and any contract or other agreement in- volving public funds, land (including concessions of public land) or other re- sources. But communications concern- ing "private affairs" is not deemed to be a "relevant" communication. This raises the question: how should one address cases of over-familiarity between leading business operators and ministers, especially inside the Maltese environment of incestuous friendships and cosy networks. Could not this over-familiar- ity also bear on political decisions? But what if the friendship pre-dates the assumption of political office? And if that is the case, doesn't the public have a right to know the degrees of fa- miliarity that exist between ministers and leading economic players? The standards commissioner has made it clear that the code does not seek to regulate the conduct of min- isters and MPs "in their purely private and personal lives", but make one important exception relating to conduct "which adversely affects the reputation and integrity of the House of Representatives." In this case, if the communication occurred after Yorgen Fenech was confirmed as the owner of 17 Black, a secret company men- tioned as a client of secret companies owned by other politicians, one may well argue that in such case over-familiarity did impinge on the integrity of the House. The fact that Fenech was later arrested as the mastermind of the assassination of a journalist, is in itself a warning against familiarity with business people en- gaged in shady deals. From private to official: Clinton's emails One major issue related to the use of private emails is linked to the obligation of Cabinet members and politicians worldwide to record relevant conversa- tions due to security issues. In the USA using mes- saging services for official government business could violate the Presidential Records Act, which requires that nearly all official White House correspondence be preserved. During her tenure as United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton drew controversy by using a private email server for official public communica- tions, rather than using official State Department email accounts maintained on secure federal servers. The controversy was a major point of contention during the 2016 presidential election, in which Clin- ton with an FBI investigation concluding that Clinton had been "extremely careless" even if no charges were filed because Clinton did not act with criminal intent. Even Joseph Muscat was revealed to have been us- ing his personal josephmuscat.com email address in various acts of official and personal correspondence. WhatsApp diplomacy: widespread but security risk Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone "hacked" by a number linked to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018. Unnamed expert sources told The Guardian that it was "highly prob- able" that an infected video file sent from the Saudi heir to Mr Bezos over WhatsApp was the source of the infiltration. International case law also suggests that WhatsApp conversations involving government officials could fall under the scope of Freedom of Information re- quests. In 2011 Ireland's Information Commission- er's Office (ICO) published new guidelines making it clear that FOI laws cover relevant information even when stored or sent on private accounts or de- vices. Subsequently the contents of a government WhatsApp group set up to manage media messaging around the Brexit result were released to RTÉ News. In Australia back in 2016 security experts raised concerns about Prime Minister Malcom Turn- bull and senior government ministers send- ing private and confidential information via WhatsApp. This is because WhatsApp also allows files to be shared and transferred between users. This has implications for government, especially if used by ministers or staff with access to classi- fied information. Earlier this year, a European Com- mission told its staff to switch to the encrypted Signal messaging app in a move that's designed to increase the security of its communications. Sig- nal is generally considered to be one of the most secure messaging apps available. It's open source, uses end- to-end encryption by default, and unlike WhatsApp, it doesn't store any message metadata or use the cloud to back up messages. Texting mates: WhatsApp has encouraged more informal communications between politicians and economic players like Yorgen Fenech: Adrian Delia (top), the PN leader, was said to have entertained a dinner request from Fenech, who would text the Opposition leader on various matters; Joseph Muscat (left) was recently questioned about his WhatsApp conversations with Fenech and Keith Schembri. Edward Zammit Lewis, the current justice minister (right), is the latest minister to be embroiled in post-17 Balck conversations with Yorgen Fenech An iconic photograph of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton using her BlackBerry while wearing sunglasses on a military plane in 2011 prompted a recordkeeping official in her office to inquire about whether Clinton had been assigned a State.gov email address

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