For 120 days, Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp) failed to say that she had had TikTok on her company mobile for “precautionary reasons”. But she has also shared information about her own residence on the fitness app Strava while she was a minister.
Earlier in February, Minister of Justice Mehl was sorry that she had not previously told the Storting that she had installed the Chinese app TikTok on her official mobile phone.
She said that she avoided telling the Storting for fear that the information could be misused:
– In general, I have a high awareness of the fact that all information can be misused. That is why I am careful about sharing information about, for example, security procedures. It can apply to where I live and where I travel in real time, or what digital equipment I have and how it is used, explained Mehl.
Now, however, VG can say that Mehl has over time shared information about his own residence on the training app Strava.
Contentious data sharing
Strava is a training app where users can log training trips and get “kudos” from friends and followers. Mehl has shared location information that has been available to her followers on her closed profile.
In 2019, NRK wrote that then transport minister Jon Georg Dale (Frp) was among those who received criticism for posting training information publicly on this app. At the time, managing director Peggy Sandbekken Heie of the Norwegian Center for Information Security (NorSIS) called the practice a potential security risk.
NRK has also shown how Norwegian soldiers in combat zones revealed their identity by using the app.
VG has obtained a screenshot showing Mehl’s walk from the cabinet residences at Frogner – where Mehl has his commuter home to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Services’ premises in Nydalen in Oslo.
Mehl believes that it is “generally known where the cabinet residences are located through the media”, but these addresses are not publicly available. However, the address to the Ministry of Justice does.
– I do not want to contribute to the focus around where I am and have therefore never profiled my use of Strava or used it in any other context than to keep in touch with friends, she tells VG.
– Stopped using Strava
In order to access location information on Strava, followers must be approved by Mehl herself, as she has a closed profile. She has around 50 followers, she says.
– I don’t have fixed running routes or running times, regardless of the Strava app. This also applies if I run to work. Now, however, I have stopped using Strava completely, to be on the safe side, says Mehl.
Before she stopped using the app a couple of months ago, she continued to use the app – but without the map function.
– Why did you do that?
– To be careful about what information is shared. Therefore, this autumn I also went through previous sessions and changed the settings for these. I have used Strava with friends for shorter periods and mostly before I became a minister.
– High awareness
The Minister of Justice has received a lot of attention for his use of social media – and Tiktok in particular.
– I have always had a high awareness of how much information is shared, both when it comes to protecting privacy and security. At the same time, I have learned several things from the discussion around TikTok which has made it natural to take even more measures for other apps as well. I think the debate around security and social media has contributed to more people becoming more aware, and I think that’s a good thing, she says to VG.
Recycling app
However, Mehl has also shared location information on the recycling app Tise, where several entries show that she is in an area on Frogner.
This information shows where the minister’s address is within one square kilometre.
But Mehl has previously also shared more specific location information. When she was a representative of the Storting, several of her advertisements were listed from specific addresses in Parkveien close to the Palace in Oslo, where several representatives of the Storting have commuter accommodation.
– I have been conscious of avoiding specific location location and changing settings for location services. The map section on my profile therefore extends over a large area in the district, and it should not be possible to see my current address. I usually send with Posten, where you don’t have to give an address, but use an anonymous delivery code, says Mehl.
– As a minister, I have of course become even more aware of this than I was previously. I think it’s good if things I no longer use myself can get a new life with others, and I often reuse them myself. I don’t use my full name on Tise, and otherwise have no more than around 140 followers on the app.
