The MX Internet Association warned that the fast-track approval made by the Chamber of Deputies of article 30-B of the Federal Tax Code, It is risky because it will allow the Tax Administration Service (SAT) to access databases of people and companies in real time and permanently. of the digital platforms that operate in Mexico, under the justification that they seek to avoid tax evasion.
In a statement, the association asked senators to review the measure because “in practice it potentially enables a system of mass surveillance on the operations of companies and “opens the door to violations of the privacy of millions of users of digital services without the requirement of a court order or clear procedural limits.”
He exemplified that it is as if “the SAT can walk through the streets (Internet) and ask each citizen to open the door of their house and let them enter so that they can inspect their house, doing so only to verify due compliance with tax obligations.” How would the SAT know what information to review? First he flips the house, checks everything and determines what works for him, this without a court order and without probable cause. “Isn’t this authoritarian?” the organization stated.
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He added that it is an authoritarian decision because it implies mass surveillance, which in authoritarian countries is used as an instrument of economic control over companies., in addition to putting industrial secrets at risk.
It “opens the door for the overexposure of industrial secrets and punishes micro, small and medium-sized companies that today depend on the Internet to survive” and they will be encouraged to stop participating in digital ecosystems and return to physical businesses.
He explained that privacy is put at risk by giving “unrestricted and permanent access to high-traffic digital systems in order to verify compliance with tax obligations, “puts the personal data of millions of users at risk, since, although it is intended to limit it to information related to tax matters, the SAT potentially acquires a “master key” to access sensitive information without judicial control.”
Therefore, they asked to limit access to the data only to topics of interest to the tax authority.
He added that “sanctions for non-compliance can be drastic and direct and can mean the temporary or permanent ‘digital death’ of digital platforms.”because the SAT, the IMSS or the INFONAVIT “can order the blocking of access to the digital service, this means that the platform would be inaccessible to all users in national territory for the duration of non-compliance. This sanction would imply enormous economic losses and affect millions of users, it would be comparable to an operational closure via the Internet.”
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Human rights are violated as established by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States and international agreements because it contravenes “the protection against illegal nuisance, providing that no one may be disturbed in their person, family, home or possessions without a written order from a competent authority that establishes and motivates the legal cause of the procedure.” It also addresses the inviolability of private communications and the protection of personal data.
Likewise, there will be cybersecurity risks because if government systems have to be paired in real time with high-traffic systems in the cloud, cybercriminals will be able to intercept continuous communication, whereas history shows that powerful government agencies have already been hacked.
He asked legislators to reflect “about the importance of safeguarding the privacy of citizens and limiting the risks of exposing millions of users to interference by the State or organized crime in their digital lives.”
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