A new bill in the Baja California Sur state legislature would make it a specific crime for phone repair technicians, service providers, or anyone else to extract, copy, or retain personal or intimate content from a device temporarily entrusted to their care.
Legislator Teresita Valentín Vázquez introduced the initiative in La Paz, proposing a new offense called “technological custody abuse.” The bill targets situations where a person gains legitimate, temporary access to someone’s phone, tablet, or computer and then misuses that access to obtain private content.
Stiffer Penalties for Digital Privacy Violations
Under the proposed law, penalties for sexual privacy violations would increase by up to 50% when the offense involves deception, intimidation, or coerced removal of passwords and biometric locks. Current BCS law sets sentences for such violations at three to six years in prison. The enhanced penalties could push maximum sentences to nine years.
The bill specifically addresses a gap in existing law. While Mexico’s federal and state penal codes already penalize unauthorized access to private communications, the concept of “technological custody abuse” would cover a distinct scenario. In this case, the perpetrator was given voluntary, lawful access to a device for a specific purpose, such as a screen repair, and then exceeded that access to steal intimate images or personal data.
No Complaint Required to Prosecute
One of the most significant provisions in the bill is that the offense would be prosecuted “de oficio,” meaning automatically by authorities without requiring the victim to file a formal criminal complaint. Under Mexican law, many crimes require the victim to initiate proceedings. Removing that requirement lowers a barrier that often prevents victims from seeking justice, particularly in cases involving intimate content.
Valentín Vázquez framed the initiative as primarily aimed at protecting women’s digital privacy. The practice of repair technicians or acquaintances copying intimate photos from devices they were asked to fix or borrow has been documented across Mexico, and existing laws have struggled to address it directly.
What This Means in Practice
The bill remains under consideration in the BCS state congress and has not yet been voted on. If approved, it would amend the state’s penal code. The proposal does not affect federal privacy laws, which govern data handling by corporations and government agencies.
For anyone living in or visiting Baja California Sur who hands a phone to a local repair shop or lends a device to an acquaintance, the law would create an explicit criminal penalty for misuse of that trust. The story was first reported by BCS Noticias.