Armenian parliament votes down emergency bill proposing access to personal data

The National Assembly on Tuesday voted down a recently initiated bill porposing amendments to the law "On the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency".

Only 65 members of the 132-seat parliament backed the legal measure allowing access to personal phone data in times of national emergency.  

Opposition lawmakers from the Prosperous Armenia party had earlier voiced their strong opposition to the draf law, questioning the guarantees of personal privacy and freedom of communication. The political bloc's leader, Naira Zohrabyan. condemned the bill as a "democratic backsliding".

The leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction, Edmon Marukyan, called on his political team to abstain from voting, noting that the parliamentary majority "does not have sufficient votes" to ensure the passage of the controversial measure.

Only Lilit Makunts, the leader of the ruling My Step bloc in parliament, urged the political opponents to back the initiative.

In the second reading on Monday, the legislative approved the bill outlining procedures for the intervention in personal data, freedom of communication and  privacy. Also separately, the parliament passed a draft law proposing a ban on the autopsy of people who have died from coronavirus.