Israel advances bill for Shin Bet tracking of coronavirus carriers' phones
Israel’s government publishes a proposal for a law with a sunset date of three months that would enable the Shin Bet to track where the mobile phones of coronavirus carriers have been.
Israel’s government published a proposal May 19 for a law that would allow the Shin Bet to monitor coronavirus carriers' cellphones. If adopted, the Shin Bet would be legally authorized, for a limited period of three months, to use mobile phone tracking to identify people who were in contact with those infected by the coronavirus.
The Shin Bet started tracking COVID-19 carriers in March, when Israel was first confronted with the novel virus. Several human right bodies and Knesset legislators objected, saying this violated people's right to privacy. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also heads the Shin Bet, decided at the time to circumvent the parliament by using emergency regulations. Thus, the agency tapped into cellular data to retrace the movements of people infected by the coronavirus.
The Shin Bet already was using these same technologies and means in its efforts to thwart terror acts. The emergency regulation approved by the Cabinet stipulated clearly that the corona-related data gathered by the Shin Bet should only be used by health authorities.
Human rights groups then petitioned the High Court to nullify the authorization.
