Warning on El Salvador’s Telecommunications Law Reform

A report by the newspaper La Prensa Gráfica indicated that the initiative, if approved, would affect the basic rights of citizens, since mishandling of personal data leaves users in a vulnerable position.

This standard is supported by attorney Laura Nathalie Hernández, who specializes in technology, data protection and information security, who addressed the rule that President Najib Bukele sent to the Legislative Assembly, which requires, among other things, that phone companies carry a record of their users.

In the letter “A” of Article 30, the initiative states that “each operator shall keep a record of all users, including prepayment, and shall keep said information available to the competent authority in the investigation of crimes that require it,” he said. the report.

The specialist explained that this section when he says “the competent authority” is ambiguous because it does not specify who or whom it refers to. The problem with that, he added, is that “the ambiguity represents the legal insecurity of the population.”

Hernandez also emphasized that keeping this type of record of all information is critical, for example, with users’ privacy.

The reforms also include that phone companies must provide the Office of the Attorney General (FGR) with recording data of the phone line or lines investigated, call records for a certain period or other types of electronic communications.

Among other threats to citizens, the fix requires users to store documents and photos, locate the sale and activate.

The lawyer commented that excessive demand for data may put users at risk, because if they are not well protected, an unscrupulous person, someone with bad intentions, can fraudulently use all this information to influence the owners of this information. ».

In statements to the newspaper, Hernandez emphasized that the reform could also violate people’s basic rights, such as privacy or intimacy.

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