Deputy Raises Concerns Over Tax Authority's Request for Mass User Data
Eliécer Feinzaig criticizes the Costa Rican Ministry of Finance for demanding sensitive personal information from telecom companies.
Eliécer Feinzaig, a deputy representing the Liberal Progressive Party (PLP) in Costa Rica, has publicly denounced a request made by the Directorate of Tax Intelligence at the Ministry of Finance for mass datasets containing personal information of telecommunications service users.
In an official communication dated March 12 and signed by Julieta Abarca Robles, the deputy director of Tax Intelligence, the Ministry requested 'MASS INFORMATION AND NOT BY INDIVIDUALIZED REQUEST' from all telecommunications operators in the country.
The Ministry set a deadline of 10 business days, concluding on March 26, for the delivery of this information, which included full names, identification numbers (either cédula, passport, or Dimex), phone numbers, email addresses, types of contracts, and geo-referenced home addresses of users.
In the request, the Tax Intelligence office cited regulations that authorize the General Directorate of Taxation to demand information under certain conditions.
This includes the ability to request individualized information during investigations concerning either individuals or groups of taxpayers when necessary for the agency's functions.
However, Deputy Feinzaig criticized the mass collection of personal and confidential information, pointing out that the Ministry is also demanding monthly updates of this information.
He highlighted that the Ministry is seeking such data without specifying individuals involved in any fiscal investigation.
Feinzaig stated, 'No third party has the right to access data without consent unless there is a judicial or administrative order.' He emphasized that when individuals contract telecommunication services, they provide their personal information to the operator solely for facilitating those services.
The operator acts as a custodian of this data, not as an owner, and is prohibited from sharing it without explicit authorization from the user, except under judicial or administrative directives.
Feinzaig further referenced Article 107 of the 2023 Regulation on the Protection of Final Users issued by the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel), which prohibits operators from disclosing information about end-users without the user's express consent except under judicial or administrative orders.
The communication from the Directorate of Tax Intelligence suggested that the right to informational self-determination of citizens could be relinquished in the interest of general concerns, provided the information is shared in a manner deemed fair, reasonable, and compliant with administrative transparency principles.
This request comes during a time when the Ministry of Finance reports a decline of over 100,000 income taxpayers in 2024 compared to 2019, raising further scrutiny regarding the intentions behind such data requests.
The official communication cautioned that invoking Law 8968 (Law on the Protection of Individuals Against the Processing of Their Personal Data) as a reason to withhold requested information would not be accepted.
Feinzaig condemned the mass data collection as unacceptable, arguing that it violates constitutional rights, national legislation, and international treaties.
He expressed concern that this could represent an intrusion into citizens' privacy by the Ministry of Finance, questioning the motives behind such sweeping data demands and whether they could aid fiscal functions given that operators are legally barred from providing such information.
In an official communication dated March 12 and signed by Julieta Abarca Robles, the deputy director of Tax Intelligence, the Ministry requested 'MASS INFORMATION AND NOT BY INDIVIDUALIZED REQUEST' from all telecommunications operators in the country.
The Ministry set a deadline of 10 business days, concluding on March 26, for the delivery of this information, which included full names, identification numbers (either cédula, passport, or Dimex), phone numbers, email addresses, types of contracts, and geo-referenced home addresses of users.
In the request, the Tax Intelligence office cited regulations that authorize the General Directorate of Taxation to demand information under certain conditions.
This includes the ability to request individualized information during investigations concerning either individuals or groups of taxpayers when necessary for the agency's functions.
However, Deputy Feinzaig criticized the mass collection of personal and confidential information, pointing out that the Ministry is also demanding monthly updates of this information.
He highlighted that the Ministry is seeking such data without specifying individuals involved in any fiscal investigation.
Feinzaig stated, 'No third party has the right to access data without consent unless there is a judicial or administrative order.' He emphasized that when individuals contract telecommunication services, they provide their personal information to the operator solely for facilitating those services.
The operator acts as a custodian of this data, not as an owner, and is prohibited from sharing it without explicit authorization from the user, except under judicial or administrative directives.
Feinzaig further referenced Article 107 of the 2023 Regulation on the Protection of Final Users issued by the Telecommunications Superintendency (Sutel), which prohibits operators from disclosing information about end-users without the user's express consent except under judicial or administrative orders.
The communication from the Directorate of Tax Intelligence suggested that the right to informational self-determination of citizens could be relinquished in the interest of general concerns, provided the information is shared in a manner deemed fair, reasonable, and compliant with administrative transparency principles.
This request comes during a time when the Ministry of Finance reports a decline of over 100,000 income taxpayers in 2024 compared to 2019, raising further scrutiny regarding the intentions behind such data requests.
The official communication cautioned that invoking Law 8968 (Law on the Protection of Individuals Against the Processing of Their Personal Data) as a reason to withhold requested information would not be accepted.
Feinzaig condemned the mass data collection as unacceptable, arguing that it violates constitutional rights, national legislation, and international treaties.
He expressed concern that this could represent an intrusion into citizens' privacy by the Ministry of Finance, questioning the motives behind such sweeping data demands and whether they could aid fiscal functions given that operators are legally barred from providing such information.
