Your privacy is safe (or so they tell us)
In a world where your phone knows more about your life than your therapist, president Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo came forward to ensure, with the seriousness of someone announcing the lineup of a festival, that in her administration the private communications of citizens are more protected than your neighbor’s Wi-Fi password. All this, he explains to us, given the commotion created by the recent modifications to the IFT and the search and telecommunications laws. Basically, our daily bread in the 4T.
From her office in the National Palace, in her now traditional morning conference (the morning podcast that no one misses), the president dropped the bomb: she accused the right and certain media of spreading panic with stories of mass surveillance and espionage. In other words, the narrative that the government wants to be the Big Brother of your digital life.
But, in a plot twist that no one saw coming, Sheinbaum released the living meme: “It’s false.”. And immediately afterwards, he released what is probably the most reassuring and terrifying phrase at the same time: “If a judge’s approval does not come for some wiretapping… that always has to be ordered by a judge, there is no other way that can be used.” In other words, your call history with your ex is not in danger… unless a judge authorizes it. Relief or suspense? You decide.
The new protocol: no ID, no chip for you
Things got more interesting when he got into the details that really affect us on a daily basis. It turns out that your biometric data (that fingerprint that you reluctantly registered) can only be used within the legal framework. But the real game-changer is that now, to buy a phone chip, you’ll have to show your ID. Goodbye to the era of prepaid anonymity, hello to the official registration of your number. It’s like they ask you for the INE to enter a party, but the party is having a mobile line.
And for those who feared that the government was going to create its own Black Mirror-style database, Sheinbaum was clear: “The databases will be held by the telephone companies, the government will not have them. And they can only be accessed in the case of an authorized request. So they are protected, there is no espionage on any person.” He basically told the companies: “You keep the treasures, we’ll just come with a warrant if we need to take a look.”
As a cherry on the cake, the president also revealed that a platform of the government of Mexico is being prepared. Will it be an app that finally doesn’t crash? A system that does not make us miss in-person procedures? The mystery continues, but it promises to be the next topic of conversation (and memes) in the digital sphere.
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