Over 600 phones tapped every month in Belgium

In 2014 there were about 600 Belgian phones tapped monthly on the orders of a magistrate, while four years ago there were about 450 phones tapped per month, reports La Dernière Heure.

The increase is part of a bigger trend, but also partly due to the higher risk of terrorism linked to jihadism in recent months. The number of phone tapping cases in Belgium has doubled in the last seven years, from 3,603 in 2007 to 5,390 in 2010, and more than 7,200 in 2014.

To implement the security tactic, the courts in 2011 shelled out about €12.9 million to telecom companies, and more than €14 million in 2014. This year the cost of phone tapping is expected to cost the Belgian courts as much as €15 million.