The Buenos Aires government announced that since February it begins to control some infractions with the fine cameras that are already installed in different parts of the City.
It will do this by taking
pictures of the interior of the vehicle
.
Thus, it will seek to penalize two offenses that have been increasing in recent years, according to data from the local observatory:
cell phone manipulation while driving and failure to use seat belts.
The City hopes that the photographs will provide incontrovertible evidence;
Until now, these infractions -to which are added the undue turn- were elaborated by the traffic agents.
Beyond the use of this technological tool that may well deter and perhaps improve behaviors, a debate is being opened around the use of the information to which the State will have access and, mainly, how it will be safeguarded.
Perhaps the first question is whether the City has the power to take photos of the interior of a car.
Is the driver's consent required?
The fine comes with the passenger covered, but the controllers can see who was in the car and it is not known what happens to the original image.
Photo GCBA
The lawyer Daniel Monastersky - who specializes in computer crimes, information security and personal data, among other related issues - clarified to
Clarín
that the Data Law contemplates "an article, the 5th, linked to consent. Data processing Personal information is illegal when people do not give their free, express and informed consent, which must be in writing, or by another comparable means, according to the circumstances.However,
consent will not be necessary
when the data is collected for the exercise of functions belonging to the powers of the State or by virtue of a legal obligation," he summarized.
It is clearly a power of the State to control traffic regulations and road safety.
Antonio Vazquez Brust is a specialist in Urban and Regional Planning and an expert in large-scale data analysis as a way of understanding cities.
"The purpose of this policy is desirable but the means to carry out the controls are disturbing. Let us bear in mind that it is the State's ability to detect the movement of citizens while they are moving, with precise location, date and time (what which is known as
tracking
)
What happens if this information falls into the wrong hands?
It is information that is even auctioned and for which ransom is demanded, do governments have the ability to defend this sensitive data against theft or leaks?" Question.
He said that this type of photo ticket has been used in Australia since 2020 and also in Spain, nationally, since last year.
As here, the physiognomy of offenders and companions is protected.
"The privacy of the person who receives the ticket at home is preserved, but
we don't know what happens with the original information, where that face is not protected and is exposed
. I think it is necessary that we all have an opinion on this subject, about how we are monitored and how we can participate in that surveillance", evaluated Vazquez Brust.
For data and security specialists, the key is information control.
"I understand that the implementation of the control could be legal. It seeks to avoid a greater evil, such as a serious offense when driving, and on the other hand, have proof, such as photography. However, where I find a matter of concern it is in elucidating who controls those who control us. We live in a society that is moving towards permanent control of all our actions, from control of patents and video surveillance to facial recognition, just to name a few", says Javier Pallero, human rights activist and technology.
Pallero focuses on the Personal Data Law;
a law whose purpose is the comprehensive protection of the data of citizens registered in files, registries, data banks, etc., both public and private.
This law was voted in 2000: "It's old, it's not an adequate law. Let's think about what our relationship with technology was like 23 years ago. How we bought, how we used the telephone, how we moved. On the other hand, in recent years there have been worrying
leaks and
hacks to Renaper, to the Federal Police, to the Buenos Aires Legislature
. That is, if technology becomes more vigilant and invasive, if we live within the framework of a "surveillance society", we need an updated law and agencies adequate to control those who control us," he summarized.
The new system detects the lack of the cell phone belt.
Photo GCBA
From the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works they assure that fines will only be processed for drivers "who cannot see their faces and, if there is a companion, they will be completely covered. In addition, only the license plates of those vehicles that are considered infringing".
Regarding the latter, a clarification: it happens that a driver can go with a
mate in his hand or with a bottle
, but the foul is only ruled out when it passes through the human eye.
Then, the license plate of this driver with a mate or a bottle in his hand would not be registered in the data bank of offenders.
Regarding personal data, the City explains that they are fully covered by the national Law (25,326 on data protection) and by Law 1,845 (of local scope). And we declare all the databases before the Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires to give greater transparency to the process and to the stored data".
Beyond the importance of carrying out controls that guarantee road safety, since February it will be known how this methodology impacts drivers who travel through Buenos Aires territory.
And in the future, to know if video surveillance managed to change the behavior of offenders behind the wheel.
MG
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