Turkey Launches 'China-Style' Coronavirus Tracker
Photo: Communcations Directorate
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Turkey has launched a project for reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus by using location data from patients' mobile devices, the Presidency's Communications Directorate announced yesterday (April 8).
The Health Ministry developed the Pandemic Isolation Tracking Project to stem the spread of Covid-19 by tracking patients diagnosed with the disease and ensuring they adhere to the government's quarantine procedure, it said.
A warning message will be sent to patients' mobile phones if they violate the quarantine process. If they do not return to isolation, their situations will be shared with the police and "necessary administrative measures and sanctions" will be implemented for those patients.
Law enforcement officers will also be able to access people's information during road controls.
Similar contact tracing projects have been developed in various countries as a response to the pandemic, most notably in China, where people are given color codes, green, yellow or red, which indicate their health status.
As such systems cause concern over personal privacy, the Communications Directorate noted that the project obtained the necessary permissions in line with Article 12 of Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data. The patients' data would not be used for any other purposes and will be under state guarantee, it said.
The project was developed in cooperation with the Health Ministry, Information and Communication Technologies Authority and all GSM operators.
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Article 12 of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data (1) The controllers are obliged to take all necessary technical and administrative measures to provide a sufficient level of security in order to: a) prevent unlawful processing of personal data, (2) In case of the processing of personal data by a natural or legal person on behalf of the controller, the controller shall jointly be responsible with these persons for taking the measures laid down in the first paragraph. (3) The controller shall be obliged to conduct necessary inspections or have them conducted in his own institution or organization, with the aim of implementing the provisions of this Law. (4) The controllers and processors shall not disclose the personal data that they learned to anyone in breach of this Law, neither shall they use such data for purposes other than processing. This obligation shall continue even after the end of their term. (5) In case the processed data is collected by other parties through unlawful methods, the controller shall notify the data subject and the Board within the shortest time. Where necessary, the Board may announce such breach at its official website or through other methods it deems appropriate. Source: Personal Data Protection Authority |
(PT/VK)