Tag: contact tracing

Google’s “private” coronavirus tracking app wasn’t so private after all

Back in April 2020, Big Tech firms Apple and Google released their frameworks for contact tracing in an effort to help governments track the coronavirus. When the frameworks were released, both the firms vehemently promised that user data, including their location information and data of whom all they’ve come in contact with, would remain private.

But the recent findings by a privacy analysis firm revealed otherwise.

Both Google and Apple stated that the data users share through their frameworks would be anonymized and shared with public health agencies only. Here’s what Google CEO Sundar Pichai said about the tool last year. “Our goal is to empower with another tool to help combat the virus while protecting user privacy.”

Banking on the promises made by the Big Tech firms, several million users ended up downloading apps built on the frameworks developed by Apple and Google.

The UK’s National Health Service app, Canada’s Digital Service COVID Alert app, and Virginia’s Department of Health’s COVIDWISE app were all built on the frameworks provided by Apple and Google.

While the NHS app has more than 15 million users, Canada’s COVID Alert app had over six million downloads in January alone.

Based on what the researchers at AppCensus, a privacy analysis firm, state, there was a privacy flaw in the Android version of contact tracing tools. What’s more, the researchers at AppCensus even ended up informing Google about it, but to no avail.

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Brits At Pubs Will Have To Register On Government Tracking App, Hand Over Phones

According to a report in the London Telegraph, anyone wishing to drink in a pub garden in Britain from Monday (only the outside areas will open) will be forced to hand over their phone to venue staff who must check the individual is registered on the government’s tracking app.

Venues will face fines of £1000 if they are found to be admitting people who have not registered on the NHS Test and Trace app with all their personal details and then scanned a QR code on entry to the outdoor portion of the venue.

The official government guidance notes “should someone choose to check in with the official NHS QR code poster, a venue should check their phone screen to ensure they have successfully checked in”.

The word ‘choose’ is odd because the guidance makes clear that it is mandatory for everyone to individually register on the app, or fill in a paper form.

There is no ‘choice’ in the matter.

Pubs have also been told to refuse entry to anyone they believe has given false details.

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Michigan Governor: Up To Six Months In Prison If Businesses Don’t Surveil Customers For Contact Tracing

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) is requiring restaurants, barbershops, tattoo parlors, recreational facilities, and entertainment establishments to record the names, contact information, and visit times of all customers to “aid with contact tracing.” Any establishment that does not comply is threatened with a maximum $200 fine, a misdemeanor charge punishable with up to six months in prison, and a $1,000 civil fine for violating the state’s emergency orders.

The order, announced Friday, comes as Michigan’s Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her administration began backtracking on the state’s latest reopening plan and tightening COVID-19 restrictions, citing rising hospitalizations and deaths. Other states including New York have implemented similar contact tracing rules, requiring restaurants to record diners’ information in the case of an outbreak.

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Michigan unveils order forcing restaurants to record ‘names and phone numbers’ of customers

Restaurants in Michigan will be required to take down the names and phone numbers of customers beginning Monday, Nov. 2.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the new order on Thursday, which will require restaurants to note the date and time of entry for customers who visit the premises.

“All dine-in food service establishments must maintain accurate records of the names and phone numbers of patrons who purchase food for consumption on the premises, and the date and time of entry,” the order stated.

The order also requires schools and businesses to “aid in contact tracing and case investigation efforts” during a time when positive tests for the virus have surged in the state.

The press release also noted changes in the capacity limits for indoor events such as weddings, parties, and banquets. The order reduces the number of people who can gather at these events from 500 to 50.

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University COVID App Mandates Are The Wrong Call

As students, parents, and schools prepare the new school year, universities are considering ways to make returning to campus safer. Some are considering and even mandating that students install COVID-related technology on their personal devices, but this is the wrong call. Exposure notification apps, quarantine enforcement programs, and similar new technologies are untested and unproven, and mandating them risks exacerbating existing inequalities in access to technology and education. Schools must remove any such mandates from student agreements or commitments, and further should pledge not to mandate installation of any technology.

Even worse, many schools—including Indiana University, UMass Amherst, and University of New Hampshire—are requiring students to make a general blanket commitment to installing an  unspecified tracking app of the university’s choosing in the future. This gives students no opportunity to assess or engage with the privacy practices or other characteristics of this technology. This is important because not all COVID exposure notification and contact tracing apps, for example, are the same. For instance, Utah’s Healthy Together app until recently collected not only Bluetooth proximity data but also GPS location data, an unnecessary privacy intrusion that was later rolled back. Google and Apple’s framework for exposure notification based on Bluetooth is more privacy-protective than a GPS-based solution, but the decision to install it or any other app must still be in the hands of the individuals affected.

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