Mexican mobile operators can be ordered to track phones
March 3rd, 2012 - 11:36 am ICT by IANSMexico City, March 3 (IANS/EFE) Mexico’s lower house approved a measure requiring mobile telephone companies to help authorities with real-time tracking and blocking of cell phones used in criminal activities.
Telecom firms refusing to comply with official requests for assistance will face fines ranging from $1,200 to $12,200.
The legislation gives prosecutors authority to demand the firms’ cooperation in cases of kidnapping, extortion, threats, drug trafficking and racketeering.
Another aspect of the law allows officials to block cell-phone, radio and data transmissions inside prisons, seen as a way of preventing jailed crime bosses from continuing to run their illicit businesses from behind bars.
The signal-blocking equipment is to be located at remote operations centres jointly run by the National Public Safety System and the telecoms companies.
Control of the security net will lie with officials outside the prisons, as recent years have seen multiple examples of guards and even wardens who were colluding with organized crime.
–IANS/EFE
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Tags: cell phone, crime bosses, data transmissions, drug trafficking, efe, extortion threats, kidnapping extortion, mexico city, mobile operators, mobile telephone, organized crime, prisons, prosecutors, public safety, racketeering, safety system, telecom firms, telecoms companies, telephone companies, wardens