Of course they can - if you're talking about tapping submarine cables or other attacks from the "outside". I was asking more about the legal situation, whether

Of course they can - if you're talking about tapping submarine cables or other attacks from the "outside". I was asking more about the legal situation, whether they have enough independence to enact laws to prevent the authorities making "inside" attacks such as: * Forcing operators to identify customers * Forbid the operator from telling their customers about anything * Take hardware without allowing it to be destroyed beforehand These things could still happen illegally of course.