JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli parliamentary oversight committee on Wednesday suspended police use of cellphone data to enforce coronavirus quarantines, with one lawmaker citing privacy concerns.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government last month empowered the police to requisition cellphone roaming data on those ordered to self-isolate as suspected or confirmed coronavirus carriers, to confirm that they were not straying.
The measure, and a parallel decision to use counter-terrorist technology developed by the Shin Bet security agency to map out carriers’ movements and infection patterns, prompted Supreme Court challenges by civil liberties groups.
Having invoked emergency coronavirus regulations to expand police access to cellphone data for a month, the government pledged that any extension would require parliamentary approval.
But, with the initial month due to expire on Wednesday, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee voted to block an extension bill…
Source Reuters Tech News
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