Press Release, 12.01.2024

Photo by Anatoly Zhdanov, Kommersant

The Moscow Department of Healthcare ordered the installation of audio recording devices in the doctors’ offices in Moscow outpatient clinics.

They even published the order that revealed that audio recording had been already introduced in two clinics as an experiment. The Department of Healthcare confirmed the issuance of the order, which reveals that audio recording had already been introduced in two clinics as an experiment. The Department states that they need wiretapping to allegedly improve the quality of service in medical institutions. Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Chairman of the Yabloko party and head of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma, sent an appeal to the Public Prosecutor of Moscow, Denis Popov, demanding that the order be checked for compliance with the law on personal data and medical confidentiality. Kruglov also suggested that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin should pay attention to the inconsistency of the order with federal legislation and take measures to repeal it.

It should be noted that this is the second high-profile case with Moscow officials announcing  collection of personal data of citizens without the consent of the latter. Earlier, the head of the Moscow Traffic Police department, Alexander Bykov, commented on the “successful” tests in Moscow of traffic lights with a facial recognition system for surveillance of pedestrians violating traffic rules. The police official said that submitting biometrics should not be a responsibility of the citizens, rather than their right.

First, there were introduced “spying traffic lights” so that to improve the quality of crossing roads, now there are “bugs” in medical offices. Together with the Moscow facial recognition system, this brings us the implementation of the wildest fantasies from dystopian novels, Kruglov notes.

“How will the principle of medical confidentiality be observed when introducing audio recordings? How will data on the personal lives of citizens collected without their knowledge be stored? How does this all correspond to the existing legislation? I sent all these questions in an appeal to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Moscow Public Prosecutor Denis Popov. I demand that they draw attention to the illegality of these measures and cancel the order,” Kruglov says.

MAXIM KRUGLOV

is a Deputy Chairman of Yabloko, 

a member of the Federal Bureau of the Party,

Deputy Chairman of the Moscow branch of Yabloko,

Head of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma,

                                               Candidate of Political Sciences.