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The Spanish Government is prepared to use the information on citizens' phones "for police purposes"
  • The Spanish Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said at a press conference on Monday that the government does not rule out, using information gathered from mobiles, knowing the movements of the population and using them for purposes policiales.Ademas, that it is a question of checking whether the standards for dealing with the coronavirus are met.
Axier Lopez @axierL 2020ko apirilaren 14a

On Monday, Grande-Marlaska was asked whether the data collected from citizens' mobiles will be used not only for health purposes but also for other purposes by the Spanish Government. The Minister of the Interior has made it clear that the use of this private information may be aimed at "surveillance, supervision or punishment of citizenship", according to Europe Press.

When such data "will be used, if used, we will do so under the protection of law and justice. added Grande-Marlaska. See the full press conference of Minister of Health, Salvador Illa and Grande-Marlaska:

 

How to get information from the public?

The Spanish Government has developed and expanded two main applications in this state of alarm. DataCOVID-19, created with the objective of receiving information of 40 million mobiles, to analyze "the impact of social distancing measures".

Moncloa has recalled that the application works according to current legislation and "does not violate people's privacy", as the data obtained from citizens' mobiles are "aggregated and anonymous".

In the Spanish State, as in most European countries, the area is divided into areas covered by mobile telephone antennas. Therefore, when moving, the phone connects to another antenna and thus, without the need for GPS, you can know from which area it has moved.

As usual, multinational telecommunications companies have offered their collaboration to Governments for data collection. Proof of this is that Apple and Google have come together to develop an app that uses Bluetooth for mobile phones. The goal, they have explained, is "to make it easier for governments to know with whom citizenship meets to cope with the expansion of the coronavirus."