COVID-19 Could Provide Cover for Surveillance Expansion

guest · Apr 30, 2020

How Virus Surveillance And Civil Liberties Could Collide
April 26, 2020
https://www.law360.com/access-to-ju...urveillance-and-civil-liberties-could-collide

Imagine your phone buzzing with an alert: Someone who passed you at the grocery store has tested positive for COVID-19. Based on location data transmitted through a smart phone app, authorities believe the stranger exposed you to the coronavirus. You might be infected.
The alert directs you to self-quarantine for 14 days to prevent further spread of the deadly disease. In the app, a map of color-coded dots displays the population of your home town. You notice the dot associated with you, previously green, has turned to yellow — now everyone else with the app knows you could be dangerous.

Whether the scenario sounds Orwellian or absolutely necessary could depend on your answer to a rhetorical question Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently posed during a live Snapchat interview.

"Do you give up a little liberty to get a little protection?" he said.
The answer seems to be yes in at least 23 countries, where dozens of "digital contact tracing" apps have already been downloaded more than 50 million times. Authorities in Australia, India, the United Kingdom and Italy are also deploying drones with video equipment and temperature sensors.
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They noted that public-private partnerships, like the one Apple and Google are reportedly working on, circumvent protections in the Bill of Rights because the tech companies conduct the surveillance — not the government itself.

"If Big Tech moves forward with their network of surveillance, and in the absence of state action, the Fourth Amendment might not apply to the unreasonable uses of such surveillance," the pair wrote in an email to Law360.
Nevertheless, he noted that judges have tended to back executive authority, especially in times of crisis.
"I don't think courts will stand in the way," he added. "Pandemics are key drivers of government expansion — I don't see a world in which we can deal with this without a government being more intrusive."
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Krusty · Apr 30, 2020

COVIDSafe coronavirus contact-tracing app faces software bugs and lingering iPhone issues

[...]
Almost one week since launch, the Government is yet to release its source code, but that has not stopped software specialists from dissecting it.

The industry consensus so far suggests the app works largely as described — it does not collect your GPS location and deletes all information held on the app older than 21 days — but that some of its design could be improved.

"Given the timeframes they pulled this off in, it's quite a good initial release," said Jessica Glenn, executive chair of technology firm QTE.am, which has analysed the app.

"There are some bugs, but that's inherent in all software. I imagine we'll see many of them resolved in the next update."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...-app-rollout-issues-iphone-wifi-bugs/12202876

[...]
iPhone issues remain
Whether COVIDSafe performs effectively on iPhone remains a key issue.

The software works best when the iPhone is unlocked and the app is open on the screen, according to the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), which oversees the project.

A DTA spokesperson admitted there were limitations to Bluetooth functionality when an app was running in the background on an iPhone.

"When [an app] is running in the background, there may be some variability in the digital handshakes on iOS devices," he said, or its ability to exchange signals with other apps on iOS.

An app is foregrounded when the phone is unlocked and the app is open on the screen, according to the DTA. The background refers to when you switch from using the app to another app or when the phone is locked.

This technical limitation could affect the app's ability to pick up close contacts, and so reduce its usefulness to the contact-tracing process as Australia relaxes lockdown measures.

During testing, Ms Glenn said her team found "mixed" performance on iPhones when the app was in the background — or running but not the app that was in view.

Apple's iOS typically prevent third-party apps from running in the background and broadcasting Bluetooth signals — a security rule that meant Singapore's TraceTogether app, on which COVIDSafe is modelled, also worked best on an unlocked iPhone.
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Krusty · May 2, 2020

Coronavirus app tracing capability not operational, despite 4 million downloads

More than 4 million people have downloaded the COVIDSafe app, but the system granting health authorities access to the information it collects is not yet operational.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called the app a vital tool in protecting Australians against coronavirus.

But the ABC has confirmed that if a person tests positive to coronavirus today, the information on the mobile application will be of no use to health authorities because the states and territories are yet to finalise how the data can be used.

"The rules on privacy are being finalised, along with final IT testing," a Department of Health spokesman said.

"The system will be operational next week ahead of the decision on possible easing of restrictions."
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-02/coronavirus-app-currently-not-fully-operational/12208924

guest · May 2, 2020

India makes government tracing app mandatory for all workers
May 2, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...g-app-mandatory-for-all-workers-idUSKBN22E07K

India has mandated that all public and private sector employees use a government-backed Bluetooth tracing app and maintain social distancing in offices as New Delhi begins easing some of its lockdown measures in lower-risk areas.

As part of its efforts to fight the deadly virus, India last month launched the app Aarogya Setu - meaning Health Bridge - a Bluetooth and GPS-based system developed by the country’s National Informatics Centre. The app alerts users who may have come in contact with people later found to be positive for COVID-19 or deemed to be at high risk.

“Use of Aarogya Setu shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public,” India’s Ministry of Home Affairs said in a notification late on Friday.
It will the responsibility of the heads of companies and organizations “to ensure 100% coverage of this app among the employees,” the ministry said.
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Officials at India’s technology ministry and a lawyer who framed the privacy policy for Aarogya Setu told Reuters the app needs to be on at least 200 million phones for it to be effective in the country of 1.3 billion people.

“Such a move should be backed by a dedicated law which provides strong data protection cover and is under the oversight of an independent body,” said Udbhav Tiwari, Public Policy Advisor for internet company Mozilla.
New Delhi has said the app will not infringe on privacy as all data is collected anonymously.
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guest · May 2, 2020

Senators to Introduce COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act
May 1, 2020
https://www.securitymagazine.com/ar...troduce-covid-19-consumer-data-protection-act

On April 30, 2020, a group of four Republican Senators announced their plan to introduce federal privacy legislation that would regulate the collection and use of personal information relating to the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

The four Senators are U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-S.D), chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet; Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security; and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

In a press release Senator Thune stated:

“While the severity of the COVID-19 health crisis cannot be overstated, individual privacy, even during times of crisis, remains critically important. This bill strikes the right balance between innovation – allowing technology companies to continue their work toward developing platforms that could trace the virus and help flatten the curve and stop the spread – and maintaining privacy protections for U.S. citizens.”
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As we have chronicled in prior blog posts (see here and here), there are numerous privacy concerns associated with the rapid development and deployment of COVID-19-related technology. These privacy concerns are amplified in the United States because there is no overarching privacy bill that applies to this technology.
Whether this forthcoming bill has any chance of passage is unclear.

Even if the bill does not gain traction, it provides companies with a road map for developing and deploying COVID-19-related technology. This includes providing proper disclosures to users, establishing opt-in / opt-out rights, utilizing data minimization principles, ensuring data security, and only keeping the data for as long as is minimally necessary.
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Wicker, Thune, Moran, Blackburn Announce Plans to Introduce Data Privacy Bill

“It is paramount that as tech companies utilize data to track the spread of COVID-19, Americans’ privacy and security are not put at risk. Health and location data can reveal sensitive and personal information, and these companies must be transparent with their users.”
The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would:

Require companies under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission to obtain affirmative express consent from individuals to collect, process, or transfer their personal health, geolocation, or proximity information for the purposes of tracking the spread of COVID-19.

Require companies to allow individuals to opt out of the collection, processing, or transfer of their personal health, geolocation, or proximity information.

Require companies to delete or de-identify all personally identifiable information when it is no longer being used for the COVID-19 public health emergency. [...]

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guest · May 3, 2020

Senators’ plan for reining in contact tracing apps doesn’t make a lot of sense
It’s unclear how to enforce the new privacy measures
May 1, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/1/2...act-tracing-data-coronavirus-covid-19-privacy

A group of Senate Republicans is planning to introduce a privacy bill that would regulate the data collected by coronavirus contact tracing apps. The COVID-19 Consumer Data Protection Act would “provide all Americans with more transparency, choice, and control over the collection and use of their personal health, geolocation, and proximity data,” according to a joint statement.

But Sara Collins, policy counsel at privacy rights watchdog group Public Knowledge said in a statement that the legislation was “a privacy ‘cure’ worse than the disease,” and amounted to “deregulation disguised as consumer protection.” The bill doesn’t include resources for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce it, offer an enforcement mechanism, or provide any new rule-making authority, Collins said.
“The only ‘restrictions’ apply to data specifically collected for coronavirus contact tracing,” she said.
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The bill is set be introduced next week, according to Sen. Wicker’s office. There’s a chance the legislation would be rolled into the next phase of coronavirus relief if it gains bipartisan support, according to Protocol. But Sen. Blackburn told Politico that she expected the COVID-19 privacy bill would probably move forward independently of the coronavirus relief legislation.

As with any privacy legislation, however, Democrats and Republicans are likely to disagree on whether to include a private right of action in the COVID-19 bill.
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guest · May 3, 2020

France's COVID-19 tracing app expected to enter testing in week of May 11
May 3, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...enter-testing-in-week-of-may-11-idUSKBN22F0QW

France’s state-supported “StopCOVID” contact-tracing app should enter its testing phase in the week of May 11 when the country starts to unwind its lockdown, a government minister said on Sunday.

“There’s nothing magical about this app, but it’s not technological coquetry either,” O wrote on online publishing platform Medium. “It’s only useful if it’s integrated into a global health system.”
Like others in Europe, France has chosen the short-range Bluetooth “handshakes” between devices as the best approach, dismissing the alternative of using location data pursued by some countries in Asia as intrusive.

France has so far opted for a “centralised” approach, which would need Apple in particular to change the settings on its iPhones. The smartphone maker has refused to budge, although discussions with the U.S. company were ongoing, O said.
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guest · May 4, 2020

Coronavirus France: Cameras to monitor masks and social distancing
May 4, 2020
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-52529981

The resort city of Cannes on the Côte d'Azur has trialled the monitoring software, installed at outdoor markets and on buses.
It is not clear how many other cities will adopt this digital surveillance.

French firm Datakalab says its software does not violate EU data privacy law.

"No image is stored or transmitted, ensuring that personal information is protected," Datakalab said, announcing its collaboration with Cannes city hall, ahead of the 11 May relaxation of France's tough lockdown.
The French surveillance system does include an automatic alert to city authorities and police where breaches of the mask and distancing rules are spotted.
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But Datakalab, a startup launched in 2017, insists that it is "not facial recognition", as the system does not store identifying data. That sets it apart from the kind of hi-tech surveillance common in China.
Datakalab says its algorithms can be incorporated into existing surveillance systems in other public spaces, such as hospitals, stations, airports and shopping centres.
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guest · May 4, 2020

UK COVID-19 contact-tracing app data may be kept for 'research' after crisis ends, MPs told
Want to opt out of that part? No chance, says NHSX chief
May 4, 2020
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/04/uk_covid_app_human_rights_parliament/

Britons will not be able to ask NHS admins to delete their COVID-19 contact-tracking data from government servers, digital arm NHSX's chief exec Matthew Gould admitted to MPs this afternoon.

Gould also told Parliament's Human Rights Committee that data harvested from Britons through NHSX's COVID-19 contact tracing app would be "pseudonymised" - and appeared to leave the door open for that data to be sold on for "research".
The government's contact-tracing app will be rolled out in Britain this week.

In response to questions from Scottish Nationalist MP Joanna Cherry this afternoon, Gould told MPs: "The data can be deleted for as long as it's on your own device. Once uploaded all the data will be deleted or fully anonymised with the law, so it can be used for research purposes."
De-anonymising such data was successfully demonstrated in 2015, as we reported at the time.
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It looks all right to us, says GCHQ offshoot
The National Cyber Security Centre was also wheeled out to defend NHSX, with top techie Ian Levy telling the world in a blog post late this afternoon that there's nothing to worry about because smart folk have put the hours in to ensure it's reasonably secure.

He went into a full description of how the pseudonymisation in the app works, starting with the 128-bit unique user ID generated after installation: [...]
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NCSC: NCSC provides security expertise on NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app / (blog post)

guest · May 4, 2020

Apple and Google prohibit apps using its COVID-tracking APIs from collecting location data
April 10, 2020 (last updated: May 4, 2020)
https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/...-coronavirus-with-a-new-contact-tracing-tool/

UPDATE 3: 2020/05/04 9:15AM PDT BY JULES WANG
UI sample and other updates
Even though the contact pinging protocols were strictly Bluetooth-based, there was always the possibility that the apps could request permission for the system's location information.

Today, the companies have explicitly announced that any apps using its APIs will not be allowed to request that data.
In addition to privacy benefits, this also rules out the inherent margin of error that GPS inherently gives and reduces power consumption. Governments that already have a contact tracing app and want to adopt this SDK will need to conform to this requirement.

The companies have generally restricted its APIs to one application to country, but they will work to allow multiple apps in a country if governments are tackling COVID-19 with a state- or region-based approach. Apple and Google also have pledged to deprecate the service when the need has passed, region by region — details of how that decision will be determined are vague at the moment.
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Reuters: Apple, Google ban use of location tracking in contact tracing apps

guest · May 5, 2020

Singapore to require smartphone check-ins at all businesses and will log visitors' national identity numbers
May 4, 2020
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/04/safe_entry_singapore_visitor_logging/

Singapore will from May 12th require all businesses to adopt a system that checks visitors into and out of their premises using their smartphones, and has already made using the system compulsory before entering some venues.

Called “SafeEntry”, the system is designed to enhance Singapore's coronavirus contact-tracing capabilities and requires visitors to either scan a QR code or allow their phones to be scanned to record a barcode in the national e-services app. That scans are taken when visitors enter and exit a premises.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health says the service logs names, national identity numbers (or the equivalent for long-term residents) and mobile phone numbers, plus the time a user entered and exited a venue.

The resulting data is uploaded to a cloud service where, the Ministry says, it will only be used “by authorised personnel for contact tracing purposes, and stringent measures are in place to safeguard the data in accordance with the Government’s data security standards.”
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guest · May 5, 2020

A security expert says India’s contact tracing app has flaws. New Delhi says they are ‘by design’
May 5, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/05/aarogya-setu-app-security-privacy-concerns-india-response/

The Indian government has said that its contact tracing app Aarogya Setu “by design” fetches the location data of its 90 million users and allows them to view the concentration of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in their vicinity.
New Delhi issued the statement after France-based security researcher Baptiste Robert found what he argues are design flaws and privacy issues.

Aarogya Setu’s privacy policy says the app — in addition to collecting location data of a user at the time of registration — also “continuously collects your location data and stores securely on your mobile device, a record of all the places you have been at 15-minute intervals.”
Collecting location data is a complicated subject, regardless of the good intention of its developers and operators.

Robert’s other concern is that Aarogya Setu, which was launched early last month, allows anyone to view the concentration of people in 500 meters to up to 10 kilometers who are either suspicious they have coronavirus, or are certain that they have the disease. He told TechCrunch that he was able to develop a script and view similar data for any nook and cranny of the world’s second most populous nation.
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In response, New Delhi said that its system is designed in a way that would prevent any script from making bulk requests. Additionally, it said, “getting data for multiple latitude and longitude this way is no different from asking several people of their location’s COVID-19 statistics.”

“All this information is already public for all locations and hence does not compromise on any personal or sensitive data,” the response said.
Some people argued today that at a crisis like this, when thousands of people are dying, these “flaws” were the least of their concerns and that the app served a much greater purpose. But Aarogya Setu, which has amassed 90 million monthly active people in less than 35 days, has also ruffled some feathers for the way it is being scaled up.
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guest · May 5, 2020

Would you let Google, Apple contact-trace your family? Here’s what Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian says
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian says the tech could really help, but lack of trust is a big issue for him
May 5, 2020
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/05/let...-trace-my-family-alexis-ohanian-not-sure.html

Your smartphone data could be used for apps that tech giants, including Alphabet’s Google and Apple, are backing with supportive interfaces to track the spread of coronavirus, but should you or your family members agree to use the contact-tracing technology?
Tech experts think it could be dangerous.

“Would I recommend that my dad do it? I don’t know,” said Alexis Ohanian, technology entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday.

“I think we would need to see a really transparent and hopefully accountable ... company to give us the confidence to say like, ‘All right, yeah, we’d be willing to do this,’” said Ohanian, who is a member of the CNBC Technology Executive Council Advisory Board.

“It’s quite unfortunate, because technology could really be helping us here in very meaningful ways, but the thing that has been eroded is that trust.”
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Krusty · May 6, 2020

Coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe hits 5 million downloads as Government concedes incompatibility with older phones

The Federal Government has conceded it might never be able to make the COVIDSafe coronavirus tracing app work on older phones as downloads surpass 5.1 million.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05...ion-download-officials-concede-flaws/12221004

guest · May 7, 2020

To keep COVID-19 patients home, some U.S. states weigh house arrest tech
May 7, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-states-weigh-house-arrest-tech-idUSKBN22J1U8

How do you ensure that someone sick with COVID-19 stays home?
As the United States begins reopening its economy, some state officials are weighing whether house arrest monitoring technology – including ankle bracelets or location-tracking apps – could be used to police quarantines imposed on coronavirus carriers.

Can officials impose electronic monitoring without an offense or a court order?
Case in point is Hawaii, which considered the sweeping use of GPS-enabled ankle bracelets or smartphone tracking apps to enforce stay-at-home orders given to arriving air passengers, according to Ronald Kouchi, the president of the Hawaii state senate.
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In response to written questions to the attorney general’s office, Hawaii’s COVID-19 Joint Information Center said the “various ideas being evaluated for tracking those under mandatory quarantine in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are right now just that, ideas.”

Similar ideas have already been executed in a few other states, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Seven people who broke quarantine rules in Louisville, Kentucky were court-ordered to wear GPS-tracking devices manufactured by Colorado-based SCRAM Systems, according to Amy Hess, the city’s chief of public services.

“We don’t want to take away people’s freedoms but at the same time we have a pandemic,” she said.
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Regarding Hawaii:
No cellphone? Not at address on your ID? Hawaii threatens arrests.

We’ve been puzzling over this press release issued April 24th by the Department of Transportation of the State of Hawaii, entitled, “Improved verification process implemented for airline passenger,” which begins as follows: [...]
We’ve read through the emergency proclamations by the Governor of Hawaii, and can’t find anything in the quarantine orders purporting to give authority to state officials to “verify passenger information.”

The press release threatens that anyone who arrives without a working cellphone, charged, with service and coverage in the arrival area at the airport, will be arrested: [...]
According to the FAQ for the app:

You will be required to check in on this application daily to report your health condition. As part of this check-in, you will be required to verify your quarantine location, provide location data, and update your health status.
This daily “check in” requires giving the app permission to use GPS and/or other cellphone location data to report the phone’s location to state authorities:
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So far as we can tell, this is the first use in the USA of GPS or cellphone data for location tracking related to COVID-19. And this automated location tracking requirement is being imposed first on people who are not suspected of being infected.
We welcome further tips or updates on what’s really going on at Hawaiian airports, the purported legal basis for these threats, or what Hawaii state officials are thinking.
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guest · May 7, 2020

Safety or surveillance: drones and the COVID-19 pandemic
Can — and should — flying robots monitor social distancing or remotely measure body temperatures
May 5, 2020
https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/covid-19-pandemic-drones-safety-surveillance/

Police departments in some states have started using drones to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. In California, Florida and New Jersey, officials have used drones to get messages to homeless communities or warn people to stay apart and respect physical distancing. But some drone companies are making even bigger claims, like they can remotely detect a fever or use facial recognition to see if someone’s wearing a mask.

I spoke with Ryan Calo, a professor of law at the University of Washington who studies emerging tech and policy. He said it’s good that people are thinking creatively, but there is cause for concern. The following is an edited transcript of our conversation.
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Molly Wood: When you say drones that claim they can tell if people are sick, is this the thing where companies claim their drones can sense the body temperature of people they’re hovering over?
Calo: There’s no shortage of people out there selling technical snake oil at any time. [...]
Again, you already have a group of people who are anxious, who are concerned, and then to put some inscrutable flying robot in the mix just strikes me as profoundly unwise.

Wood: However, even if it’s not drones, we do seem to be seeing a steady march toward surveillance. How much are you worried that this is going to be an excuse to implement all kinds of surveillance?

Calo: I’m very worried. It’s interesting because there are a number of efforts to try to create an app that you can just download on your phone that’s supposed to keep you safe. [...] Either you might be reassured that there’s no instance of coronavirus in your community when in fact there is, or conversely you might be cowering at home because every couple days you get a ping telling you you need to self-quarantine. I think that there’s a big difference between using tech as part of the solution and falling back on tech-solutionism.
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Calo: I think that some set of companies are looking to their own data and asking questions, like how can we be useful? For example, Kinsa, which is that thermometer that’s connected that purports to tell you where there is a spike in fevers. They want to be useful with that data, [...]
I think sometimes companies are legitimately trying to look at the data and say how we can help. Other companies are trying to do something so that they look like they’re doing something, and still others are selling snake oil. That whole ecosystem is out there.
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ronjor · May 8, 2020

Health Officials Say 'No Thanks' to Contact-Tracing Tech

Fred Vogelstein Will Knight 05.08.2020
Silicon Valley companies have proposed automating the arduous task of identifying people potentially exposed to Covid-19. They're finding few takers.
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guest · May 8, 2020

Police Use Drones To Monitor The Homeless And Check People's Temperatures
May 7, 2020
https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2020/05/police-are-using-drones-to-monitor.html

All across the country, law enforcement is using the pandemic as an excuse to use Chinese-made drones to monitor the public. Which breaks EVERY promise law enforcement has ever made regarding the use of drones. (More on that later.)

A recent Miami Herald article revealed how police are using Chinese-made DJI drones to monitor the homeless and check a person's temperature. [...]
The article, written by Charles Rabin, said that both agencies stopped using thermal imaging drones after civil liberty groups warned that police drones have essentially become “Big Doctor” in the sky.

As USA Today explains people have a right to privacy.
Earlier, I mentioned that law enforcement broke every promise they ever made about using drones except during an emergency.
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As I mentioned last month, it is only a matter of time before police drones and CCTV cameras are turned into heartbeat measuring monsters.
EFF also revealed how law enforcement is using the pandemic as an excuse to increase public surveillance.

The fight to keep our privacy is a never-ending battle against government and corporate interests that want to know everything about everyone.
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EFF: Using Drones to Fight COVID-19 is the Slipperiest of All Slopes

The threats to civil liberties created by drones increase exponentially if those drones are, as some current plans propose, equipped with the ability to conduct face surveillance. If police now start to use drones to identify people who are violating quarantine and walking around in public after testing positive for COVID-19, police can easily use the same drones to identify participants in protests or strikes once the crisis is over.

As always, local police and public health officials should not acquire new surveillance technologies, or use old surveillance technologies in new ways, without first asking for permission from their city councils or other legislative authorities

Even in a time of crisis, we must not normalize policing by robot. Videos of Italian mayors using drones with speakers to shout at people defying shelter-in-place orders are supposed to be funny, but we find them alarming.
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guest · May 9, 2020

Indian court seeks government reply over challenge to mandatory coronavirus app
May 8, 2020
https://in.reuters.com/article/us-h...ge-to-mandatory-coronavirus-app-idINKBN22K1GG

A court asked the Indian government on Friday to respond to a challenge against its order for compulsory use of a contact tracing app by public and private sector employees returning to work amid the world’s biggest coronavirus lockdown.

India launched the Aarogya Setu, or “Health Bridge”, app last month. Downloaded to the phones of 94 million Indians, it makes use of Bluetooth and GPS to alert users who may have encountered people who later test positive for the virus.
But mandatory use of the app forces a user to “give away data to a system which he may or may not approve of, thereby attacking his right of informational autonomy,” a member of the opposition Congress party said in a petition to the high court in the southern state of Kerala.

“Such coercive and forcible extraction of personal information from an individual is unheard of in a democratic and republic setup and it is attribute of a dictatorial system,” said the petition, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.
The court has fixed a hearing on May 12.
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App use should be mandatory only in containment zones, Delhi-based think tank the Dialogue told the government, calling for independent data auditing to preserve checks and balances.
Many nations are using similar apps but some, such as Australia and Colombia, are turning to technology from Apple and Alphabet’s Google amid citizens’ privacy concerns and glitchy state-backed systems.
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guest · May 10, 2020

mood said: ↑

Singapore to require smartphone check-ins at all businesses and will log visitors' national identity numbers
May 4, 2020
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/04/safe_entry_singapore_visitor_logging/
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Singapore turns to businesses to bolster contact tracing efforts
May 10, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/singapore-turns-to-businesses-to-bolster-contact-tracing-efforts/

Singapore has rolled out a new digital check-in system to boost its contact tracing efforts and stem the spread of COVID-19, making it mandatory at certain locations across the island.

The move comes weeks after the launch of a contact tracing app that has since garnered more than 1.4 million downloads, but well below the government's hope to reach three quarters of the local population.
To date, the check-in system already has been deployed at more than 16,000 sites island-wide.

"Employees and visitors should check-in and check-out of workplaces and other venues using SafeEntry to help our contact tracers establish cluster links and transmission chains," said the Health Ministry. "It is important that everyone plays their part and uses SafeEntry, so that we can collectively prevent new clusters from forming."
The introduction of the digital check-in system follows the launch of the country's contact tracing app, TraceTogether, in April.
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guest · May 11, 2020

NHS develops second contact-tracing app as privacy concerns mount
Discussions with Big Tech become more productive after "serious legal flaws" are uncovered
May 11, 2020
https://www.itpro.co.uk/technology/...-contact-tracing-app-in-parallel-to-its-first

The UK is reportedly developing a decentralised contract-tracing app powered by Google and Apple’s technology despite dismissing this idea just weeks ago, all while pursuing the rollout of its own centralised version.

Development is underway on the project after the first app, which is being trialled on the Isle of Wight, receiving a slew of negative feedback, according to the Financial Times (FT). NHSX, however, denies planning any kind of transition.
This is in addition to mounting data protection concerns based on experts’ assessments of the data protection impact assessment (DPIA) conducted on the software, on top of security fears. The pilot version of the app reportedly failed cyber security tests last week, for instance.
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Reuters: UK test-and-trace app trial on Isle of Wight 'going well': minister

A trial of Britain’s proposed coronavirus test-and-trace app being conducted on the Isle of Wight off the coast of southern England is going well, Transort Secretary Grant Shapps said on Saturday.

“The trial in the Isle of Wight of that tracking app, the NHSX app designed to help assist people, is going well. People have been downloading it enthusiastically and I know that the plan is later in the month to make it more widely available as well,” Shapps said at the government’s daily news briefing.
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guest · May 12, 2020

Coronavirus contact tracing poses serious threats to our privacy
May 11, 2020
https://techxplore.com/news/2020-05-coronavirus-contact-poses-threats-privacy.html

As a faculty member within the Centre for Digital Humanities at Brock University, my role is to communicate the social and cultural consequences of digital media, including potential privacy and security risks of software used to limit the effects of COVID-19.
In the coming weeks and months, I expect that we will hear a lot about "contact tracing."
Civil liberties in crisis
Contact tracing using digital technology represents an opportunity to battle COVID-19 and reopen the economy, but its application will create unprecedented surveillance infrastructure beyond anything we have seen before.

South Korea, Singapore, Germany and China have all implemented their own digital tools to assist public health officials and trace the spread of COVID-19.
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The security and privacy implications are profound.
Regardless of the optimism of the technology news observers, these systems are too complex and lacking in the transparency necessary for legislators to make adequately informed decisions on their implementation.

There is no reason the general public should trust these corporations to not monetize this system and maintain this surveillance infrastructure after the crisis has passed.
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guest · May 12, 2020

Op-Ed: Coronavirus tracing apps are coming. Here’s how they could reshape surveillance as we know it
May 12, 2020
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-05-12/coronavirus-tracing-app-apple-google

Last week, the world got a preview of how Google and Apple’s contact tracing project might look and function. Some privacy and security experts have expressed cautious optimism that the effort could be a potentially useful tool to aid public health contact tracers while protecting privacy.

First, there are only so many things tech companies can control. Google and Apple are promising to serve as staunch gatekeepers of the system they are creating.
To protect civil liberties, the companies say they will not allow government agencies to mandate use of the app (presumably, by denying them system access). But, of course, that doesn’t prevent others like employers and schools, who aren’t bound by the companies’ terms of use for app developers, from requiring app participation as a condition of employment or entrance.
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Second, governments will want these tools for their own purposes.
Will Apple and Google and every other software developer be able to resist indefinitely governments’ attempts to change the design of these tools?

Finally, this technology, once deployed, will not be “rolled back.” We are repeatedly told that contact tracing apps and COVID-19-related surveillance are temporary measures for use until the pandemic passes. That’s likely to be a fantasy.
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Good privacy engineering is one piece of the puzzle for contact tracing apps. Perhaps even more difficult is weighing the long-term consequences of how these tools will be used after the pandemic ends.
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guest · May 12, 2020

Privacy Litigation in the Age of Coronavirus
May 11, 2020
https://www.dataprivacymonitor.com/privacy-litigation/privacy-litigation-in-the-age-of-coronavirus/

How long before things get back to normal?

A solution in some parts of the world has been to combine rigorous testing with tracking and surveillance. This approach has apparently worked with varying levels of success in parts of Asia and elsewhere. In the United States, technology companies have taken note and are developing capabilities to enable a similar approach.
Just like these existing technologies, the risk of litigation over COVID-19-tracking technologies is high.
Litigation Over Existing Consumer Data Collection Technologies
Since the dawn of the internet boom, various waves of consumer data-collection and surveillance technologies have proliferated to the benefit of society while at the same time contending with class actions alleging that the technologies have overstepped laws protecting individuals’ personal privacy.
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Prospects for Litigation Over COVID-19 Tracking Technologies
One could hope that in the interest of banding together to fight a common enemy, plaintiffs’ attorneys would shy away from filing privacy lawsuits against companies that develop tracking technologies intended to aid in the fight against COVID-19.

However, history suggests that absent legislative immunity in some form, plaintiffs’ attorneys will be watching closely for any company that develops customer data tracking technologies. At least one U.S. senator has warned that the legal landscape is unlikely to change anytime soon, while lawmakers are busy tackling other issues during the pandemic.
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This means that any company that pursues technological solutions to trace and isolate the virus (and allow us to get back to some semblance of life as we knew it) is on its own in protecting itself from the privacy and other legal implications flowing from the technology. The best defense against liability is to give clear notice of what data is being captured and how it is being or will be used as well as requiring informed consent to such data capture and use.

Tracking technology can be a vital tool in mitigating the physical, emotional, and financial pain we are now enduring as a result of the pandemic, even though it also raises privacy implications.
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guest · May 13, 2020

Civil liberty groups dismiss guarantee on US not accessing COVIDSafe data
May 13, 2020
https://www.zdnet.com/article/civil...guarantee-on-us-not-accessing-covidsafe-data/

Representatives from a coalition of technology experts and civil liberties groups have told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) that the Australian government cannot guarantee United States authorities will not have access to data held by the COVIDSafe coronavirus contact tracing app.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) was handed the data storage contract for Australia's COVID-19 contact tracing app in April. With AWS headquartered in the United States, concerns over the security of the data were raised, with fears it could be accessed by US law enforcement.
A spokesperson for Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert told ZDNet at the time that the minister had "the utmost confidence in how the information is being managed".
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