Cellphone recordings raise privacy issues

By Staff Writer for Spescom
Johannesburg, 07 Sep 2009

That last bastion of privacy and freedom, one's cellphone, may no longer be so private.

So says Viv Crone, MD of Spescom Mobile Solutions, discussing potential privacy concerns over Spescom's ReMo solution.

Subscribers to ReMo receive a mobile application that lets them record and store mobile phone conversations, photographs, dictated memos, audio clips or text documents, upload them to a secure online vault, then access, replay, send or manage this data via the Internet.

The company admits that recordings of mobile conversations considered 'private' or 'sensitive' can, in the wrong hands, be damaging.

However, Crone argues, "call recording is moving from fixed lines to mobile for good reason. Designed to mitigate business risk, protect the rights of the people taking part in the interaction and, in many instances, meet legislative requirements, the recording of mobile interactions is a natural progression of voice recording technologies. We can expect many more people, especially those who do business on their phones, to record those transactions."

Spescom aims to address security concerns with an online vault that features built-in security and password protection, to ensure only an authorised person can access this information. However, other people can also be given rights to access the information if required.

"I believe the capability of everyone to record these calls will certainly introduce a new responsibility, and accountability, to participants in cellphone conversations, ensuring claims made and agreements entered into using mobile phones carry the same weight as those conducted on a fixed line and formally recorded in a more traditional manner," says Charl van der Merwe, business development manager at Spescom.

Like any change, a period of adaptation may be necessary, he notes. "It may be vital to handle the making of recordings with sensitivity if you do not want to alienate customers, business associates and even friends.

"In time, however, as the benefits of these recordings become more apparent, natural resistance may well give way to greater transparency and openness, perhaps bringing with it a fresh new business morality," concludes Van der Merwe.