How do authorities/governments address privacy protection versus health and safety concerns? 2) What are ethical considerations should apps developers be considering when they draft up terms around the data they collect?
As the covid-19 pandemic has entered its second year, technologists everywhere have been rushing to build apps,
services, and systems for contact tracing: identifying and notifying all those who come in contact with a COVID-19 carrier
(COVID19 positive). Some are lightweight and temporary, while others are pervasive and invasive: China’s system, for
example, sucks up data including citizens’ identity, location, and even online payment history so that local police can
watch for those who break quarantine rules. South Korea, authorities used location data from mobile phones, credit-card
transactions, and CCTV footage to identify potentially infected citizens. In Malaysia, there is also a concern about how
data are being managed in the mySejahtera app. Although assurances are given, there is still concern about privacy
including the potential harvesting of personal data and a perception that the government is using the app to track and
surveil its citizens.This mobile surveillance helps enhance public health interventions to manage COVID-19, and the new capabilities
might become technological fixtures that assist countries worldwide to be better prepared for the next virus outbreak.
However, these contact tracing programs collect sensitive health and behavioral data such as your symptoms, locations,
and contacts and addresses, and raise significant risks to personal privacy and civil liberties.
1) How do authorities/governments address privacy protection versus health and safety concerns?
2) What are ethical considerations should apps developers be considering when they draft up terms around the
data they collect? How can they communicate this effectively to users?
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