Nowadays, an important feature of smartphones is that you can download third-party applications. These applications have made mobile devices much more fun and useful and increased the convenience to users [1]. These smartphone applications collect a lot of information about the user and its activities, making not only commercial companies but also governments or parties like Dutch Tax Authorities interested in obtaining the data. However, what if the data is not used to improve the customer experience of a user but to identify a person’s lies about travel expenses or double accounting?
In the end of 2013, it became publicly known that the Dutch tax authorities had demanded data access of at least three companies that enabled users to park-and-pay via an smartphone application. This was done to check the places, the amount of time and the date users of the application had parked their car. Specifically, the tax authorities wanted to check whether leasing authors kept themselves at the permitted private kilometers rates, but could also use the data for other purposes. Though many users and the companies such as SMSParking thought it was against the right of privacy and filed a lawsuit, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled (on August 2014) that tax officers may use the data. [2][3]
Last year, the Dutch Tax Authorities attempted to gain access and use “Automaic Number Plate Recognition” data obtained from the national policy, in order to verify private use of lease-cars. Controversy, this time the Dutch Supreme Court ruled (on February 2017) that it was unlawful infringement of the right of privacy [4].
As the examples show, the Dutch Tax Authorities – and the government in general – would like to use the data generated by these smartphone applications and are willing to go to court for it. Nevertheless, there are two sides to this coin. On the one hand, the digitalization of – for example – parking provides an additional source of information for the governments in maintaining the law. On the other hand, it puts companies in a difficult position with its loyal customers, who become loyal in part because they assume the company protects the data it receives from them. Moreover, people can perceive it as `big brother watching you´.
Indeed, the Internet of Things is really going to be the Internet of Everything. And that’s why I think it will be fascinating to see the public discourse that forms around future lawsuits like those mentioned above. If the Internet is everywhere and everything, how far can a government go to find out information about you?
[1] Enck, W., Gilbert, P., Han, S., Tendulkar, V., Chun, B.-G., Cox, L. P., Jung, J., McDaniel, P., and Sheth, A. N. 2014. TaintDroid: An information-flow tracking system for realtime privacy monitoring on smartphones. ACM Trans. Comput. Syst. 32, 2, Article 5 (June 2014), 29 pages. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2619091
[2] https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2013/11/08/fiscus-wil-parkeerinfo-sms-parking-weigert-a1429970
[3] https://decorrespondent.nl/2743/belastingdienst-stopt-met-opvragen-parkeergegevens/84363708-41ee02e8
[4] https://www.loyensloeff.com/nl-nl/news-events/newsletters/privacy-newsletter/data-protection-and-privacy-update-the-netherlands-february-2017
Interesting topic you touch upon. I think this is one of the main subjects in society at the moment. Data indeed can offer loads of possibilities that can be used to reduce the workforce of governments, such as automatic number plate recognition. However, don’t you think that as ‘good citizens’ you have nothing to hide regarding simple elements in someone’s life such as the use of a lease car for private purpose? I think government’s should be able to monitor things like this as it might benefit society.
However, I do think that there should be a limit to which governments are able to make use of data to trace a person’s life, mostly related to your private life. However, in case of reasonable suspicion a government should be able to look into a person’s life via data. Though this is just shifting the problem to: when is there a reasonable suspicion?
What are your thoughts on the extent to which a government should be able to monitor a person’s life?