《TAIPEI TIMES》 GPS tracking amendment passes first reading

By Hsieh Chun-lin and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A legislative committee on Wednesday approved the first reading of an amendment that would allow police and prosecutors to track suspects using their cellphone’s GPS or mobile communications signals.

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There is still disagreement with opposition legislators over some aspects of the bill, said Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin （鍾佳濱）, who chaired the meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee at which the amendment was reviewed.

Two versions would be sent to the opposition parties for them to deliberate on, he added.

Issues that needed to be worked out included stipulations about the protection of individual rights, reasonable protection of privacy, and protection of military or national secrets, Chung said, adding that prosecutors would only be allowed to track suspects in a manner that “does not identify [their] personal biometrics.”

This would be done with GPS, mobile signal tracking, or specially equipped vehicles that can accurately triangulate a cellphone’s mobile communications signal, he said.

“The provisions would apply when a prosecutors’ office or an investigator deem them necessary for the investigation of a crime or the collection of evidence,” Chung said.

“Tracking would not be permitted to exceed 24 consecutive hours or two days in total, except with special permission issued by a court,” Chung added.

In case a third party’s personal information is obtained during the investigation, it shall only be used for comparison purposes and be deleted immediately after the investigation is completed, the draft says.

For investigations of crimes that would result in a minimum sentence of three years, investigators would be permitted to monitor individuals and record their images from outside of a property, without physically intruding into the property, it says, adding that court permission would be necessary.

However, the provisions of the amendment would not apply to places where it is reasonably believed that military secrets are kept, except with the permission of the commander in charge of the premises, the draft says.

If a prosecutor, judicial official or police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the situation is urgent, exceptions could be made, it says.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES