Kortrijk to keep detailed records of visitors

The city wants to collect as many data as possible, Het Nieuwsblad reports. The city's explanation is that they "want to be able to take tailor-made decisions" in future city policies. "Measuring is knowing."

The city council approved a preliminary accord to work together with telecommunications providers. These will make analyses of mobile phone use by visitors of the city.

This will enable the city to find out how many people are visiting, where they come from, how long they stay in a certain place, where they spend the night, where they park, who they are, how they move from one point to another. Kortrijk wants to use these data to send specific publicity messages.

Kortrijk Alderman Arne Vandendriessche says there are no privacy concerns. "Mobile phone operators are being supervised by the Privacy Commission. Moreover, they don't reveal people's identity. They just track smart phones."