LSK petitions Supreme Court over the installation of spying gadgets on the mobile phones
LSK petitions Supreme Court over the installation of spying gadgets by the Communication Authority on peoples’ mobile phones
Lawyers have moved to the Supreme Court to stop the communications regulator from installing spying device on mobile phone networks that is claimed will give the watchdog access to other customer data, including calls, messages, and financial transactions.
After the Court of Appeal permitted the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) to proceed with the implementation while involving the public in the process, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) moved to the Supreme Court.
The Device Management Systems (DMS) device, according to the lawyers, will usher in an era of government control and privacy invasion through the intercepting and recording of communication and mobile data.
The lawyers’ lobby says the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the police, and other government agencies will have access to phone call data through the DMS.
“The DMS will not just be collecting mobile data from devices in the system, it will also offer the ability to cross-reference that data with personal data held in other foundational and functional government databases,” said the LSK.
Safaricom had raised concerns that the monitoring devices would give the regulator access to other customer data held by the telecom operators.
The Device Management Systems (DMS) implementation in 2018 was halted by court orders but the appeals court okayed its use.
The regulator insists that the technology can only identify and record the unique identification number of mobile phones and assigned subscriber numbers, and denies that the DMS has the ability to access subscriber phone records, location, and mobile money transaction details.
In the appeal, the CA said it had no intention of snooping on customers’ information and that the monitoring devices would be used to crack down on illegal mobile devices operating in the market without infringing on consumers’ privacy.
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