That's why you should switch off your phone before sensitive meetings

400 Points
Switch off your phone before sensitive meetings or store it away to protect confidential content. If you can, remove the battery.

When can I tick off this task?

You can tick off this task if everyone present in sensitive meetings switches off their phones or takes them out of the room.

Why and for whom is this task important?

Civil society engagement

People who are involved in civil society, conduct investigative research or uncover abuses often have access to particularly sensitive information and deal with particularly vulnerable people or groups. A leak of information through e.g. wiretapping could potentially endanger people.

Political activism

If you are politically active, you should be particularly careful. Devices belonging to you or your comrades could be infected with malware or be tapped. Switch them off to increase trust in a conversation!

More information and details

Remember that other people cannot know how well you know your own phone. It is therefore always a sign of mutual trust to keep phones out of sensitive conversations. The general rule should be: Trust people rather than their devices.

Sources and further links

  1. Cell phone ban: Dutch ministers would have to hand in devices in the future, heise.de, (de), 2024-08-22