Telcos, DoT in sync with states to track patients

MUMBAI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and mobile phone operators are working in tandem with state governments to use call data of subscribers to closely track the movement of Covid-19 positive patients, besides keeping a close watch on millions of migrant labourers to help them with food and find employment.But officials clarified that only location details of calls were being used for the purpose, and not the detailed call data records (CDRs), which may have raised concerns around privacy and state surveillance. Privacy experts, however, said such sharing still triggers concerns around data privacy since no permission has been sought from subscribers."If a patient moves away from his quarantine location, it means he has moved away from his geo-fencing area and alerts go out to agencies including police," said an official aware of the work done by different government bodies on Covid-19."The DoT is also tracking the cell sites of the patients and places they visited for 15 days prior to being tested positive. This helps to check up on those who have come in contact with the patient," added the official.7539845275398465

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2Y3C2ts