Amendment to GPS tracking is adopted at first reading

• By Hsieh Chun-lin and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writer

A legislative committee on Wednesday approved in first reading a bill that would allow police and prosecutors to track suspects using the GPS or cellular signals of their cell phones.

There is still disagreement with opposition lawmakers on some aspects of the bill, said Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who chaired the meeting of the Committee on Judiciary and Organizational Laws and Regulations of the Legislative Yuan that examined the amendment.

Two versions would be sent to the opposition parties for discussion, he added.

Photo: Wang Chieh, Taipei Times

Issues to be clarified include provisions to protect individual rights, adequate privacy protection and the protection of military or national secrets, Chung said, adding that prosecutors should only pursue suspects in a way that “does not involve identifying the [their] personal biometrics.”

This could be done using GPS, mobile signal tracking or specially equipped vehicles that can precisely triangulate a cell phone's cellular signal, he said.

“The provisions would apply if a prosecutor or investigator deems them necessary to solve a crime or gather evidence,” Chung said.

“Surveillance should not exceed 24 consecutive hours or a total of two days, unless with special permission from a court,” Chung added.

If personal data of third parties is obtained in the course of the investigation, this may only be used for comparison purposes and may be deleted immediately after the investigation has been completed, the draft states.

When investigating crimes that carry a minimum sentence of three years, investigators would be allowed to monitor and take images of people from outside a property without physically entering the property, the statement said, but court approval would be required.

However, the provisions of the amendment to the law would not apply to places where there is reasonable suspicion that military secrets are being kept there, unless the commander responsible for the premises has given his permission, the draft states.

If a prosecutor, judicial officer or police officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the situation is urgent, exceptions may be made, the statement said.

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