Armenia parliament votes down mobile location data bill

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenia National Assembly on Tuesday, March 31 voted down a proposal to track mobile location data for monitoring whether coronavirus response measures are being adhered to.

65 lawmakers voted in favor of the measure instead of the necessary 67, although the ruling My Step bloc has 88 mandates in the parliament.

Using location data from cell phones, the government hoped to better track and respond to the COVID-19 epidemic across the country.

If the parliament approved the measure, operators would have to hand over phone location and usage data, including confidential medical information, to the authorities.

Several countries, like Israel, have already started enlisting location data from mobile phone networks.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Armenia grew by 50 to reach 532 on March 31 morning. The country declared a 30-day state of emergency on March 16 and banned citizens of 16 nations from entering the country. So far, 30 people have recovered, three have died from the coronavirus in Armenia.