A smartphone (illustration). – Pixabay / niekverlaan
In Swiss, the operator Swisscom will have to communicate to the authorities when more than 20 telephones are at the same time in a space of 100 square meters. The aim is to enforce the ban on gatherings of more than five people in public space and limit the spread of
coronavirus.
However, the authorities will not be notified in real time. There will be a 24-hour time difference between the time the situation is observed and the time when the information is communicated to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), explains Time, this Wednesday.
Data would be anonymized
In an attempt to reassure the public, Swisscom ensures that the data will be “fully anonymized and aggregated, that is, it can only be identified as a group”. The operator also specifies that this information “may not be used for other purposes or be combined with other data, including in the context of criminal proceedings”. The aim, therefore, for the authorities would be simply to determine whether gatherings of people are taking place on several days in a row in the same place in order to put an end to it.
Swisscom customers who wish to do so can refuse to have their data analyzed by phoning the operator or from the customer area. It should also be noted that the announcement of Swisscom’s collaboration with the OFSP has been strongly criticized by lawyers specializing in data protection.
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