The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will use data from public transport video camera footage and Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system to fight terrorism and serious crimes.
This deviates from the previous stance where the Ministry had said that it would not use some of the data.
Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam explained that this change was imperative - “in this changed security environment, the Home Team must be able to collect and analyse suspicious travel patterns and respond swiftly and decisively, for our collective security”.
Nominated Member of Parliament Kok Heng Leun asked what safeguards would be in place to prevent an abuse of the available data.
Mr Shanmugam said the authorities would use the data would be used with accordance with stipulated guidelines. Individuals who misappropriate data will be prosecuted in court. He added that despite the possibility of data abuse, the authorities should track data so as to be better equipped to deal with attacks.
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