Moscow’s digital permit system to delete personal data only after conclusion of lawsuits

The personal data of Moscow residents recorded in the city’s digital permit system will not be deleted until after the conclusion of all associated lawsuits, Alexey Nemeryuk, the head of Moscow’s Trade and Services Department, told TASS. 

“Residents filed lawsuits against either the digital permit system itself, or for fines that have been issued. Once all of these proceedings are over, we will immediately demonstrate that the data is being deleted from the system,” Nemeryuk said.

He also added that removing personal data collected through the “Social Monitoring” app — a mobile app Moscow officials launched in April to monitor coronavirus patients’ compliance with home isolation — will be handled the same way. However, Eduard Lysenko, the head of Moscow’s Information Technology Department, previously said that personal data from the “Social Monitoring” app will be deleted within 10 days of the end of the user’s quarantine period.

Nemeryuk did not specify a timeline for the court proceedings, or say how many cases are involved.

Moscow residents had to comply with a digital permit system designed to enforce self-isolation rules from April 15 to June 9. During that time period, reports emerged about several lawsuits being filed over the illegality of the permit system and fines that were issued automatically for violations of the self-isolation order. As of June 11, all of the known cases reviewed so far have been dismissed.

The Moscow City Court is set to examine four claims that have been combined into a single case from Moscow’s municipal deputies, who are demanding that the article of the Moscow Administrative Code on the automatic issuance of fines for violating self-isolation rules be deemed unlawful.