A change in Spanish law will consider the general disclosure of the location of STOP operations a very serious offense, with fines to oscillate between 3000 and 20 thousand euros.
The Traffic Directorate (DGT) in Spain is squeezing the belt against users warning about Stop operations on social networks and messaging applications.
Currently, there is already a law that provides for the punishment of the dissemination of the location of STOP operations, but only in cases where The safety of agents is at risk or the effectiveness of the inspection action that is being carried out, known as the Citizen Security Law.
Now, the Traffic Law Reformwhich has been approved by the Spanish Parliament and is being designed by the deputies, will define as a very serious road infraction the use of applications or groups on social networks that warn drivers for police operations on the road. This means that the fines will vary Between 3000 and 20 thousand euros.
Although the new law is not yet in force, a squeeze in court is already being noted. Earlier this month, a Judgment at the Court of Vigo Against the administrator of a WhatsApp group who, along with 20 other users, shared alerts about police operations.
The suspects were accused of hindering investigations by the Civil Guard, namely the Central Operative Unit (UCO), responsible for the fight against organized crime. The revelation of the location of the controls severely compromised several investigations, which led to the application of heavy fines: 1200 euros for the administrator of the group and 600 euros for each of the 20 users.
Authorities estimate that there will be More than 100 groups In the Galicia region to warn of Stop operations, one of which, on the Costa da Death, will have more than 15,000 member followers. However, this lawsuit has made some of the most popular groups of WhatsApp and Telegram in the province to be erased, the local newspaper reports.
In one of the groups, the administrators informed the closing, explaining that the normative had changed and that now, without the need for a court order, the security forces can infiltrate the chats and use public information to discover the identity of users.
