@joe-shmo saidIt would depend on how it works.
This app is in the test phase, and has already been implemented in several locations in the US.
Thoughts... opinions?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-22/here-s-how-to-track-covid-cases-using-data-so-economy-can-reopen?utm_source=url_link
How is privacy protected in it?
@shavixmir saidI haven't read the link in the OP, but there's a UK version, the basic idea is that the app sees which other phones are within bluetooth range. If an owner of a phone gets covid-19 then all the people who've been within bluetooth range are told to self-isolate. There are privacy concerns as the companies who set this up have access to tons of data they can try to sell people stuff with. There's the possibility of false positives as someone on the other side of a wall isn't going to infect you with covid. There's the way I keep bluetooth switched off to avoid bluetooth viruses and my phone battery running down really quickly.
It would depend on how it works.
How is privacy protected in it?
@deepthought saidThere’s been talk of this system in Holland too. I think it’s South Korea (or Taiwan, can’t be arsed looking it up) that are using it.
I haven't read the link in the OP, but there's a UK version, the basic idea is that the app sees which other phones are within bluetooth range. If an owner of a phone gets covid-19 then all the people who've been within bluetooth range are told to self-isolate. There are privacy concerns as the companies who set this up have access to tons of data they can try to sell p ...[text shortened]... bluetooth switched off to avoid bluetooth viruses and my phone battery running down really quickly.
The main problem is, indeed, that you get false positives (walls, cars, etc.).
The system needs to be anonimised, so the data can’t be traced to an individual (the app creates a unique ID for the bluetooth signal which is only stored decentralized).
Better than the other options I’ve been hearing about. The more accurate the system, the less privacy will be protected.
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From the article:
“The concept here is quickly find the brush fire and extinguish the brush fire before you have a forest fire,” said Paul Jarris, chief medical adviser at Mitre Corp., the research group that developed the software.
Social-distancing is a blunt tool that can suppress transmission, but it comes at great cost. As new cases decline and states attempt to reopen, it will be up to public health departments to identify people infected with the virus, find out whether they’ve exposed others, and, if so, to quarantine and monitor those contacts. If more people get sick, they repeat the process, chasing down the virus case by case to break chains of transmission.“
We have to remember that these tracking apps are going to be used by government officials. In a CNN interview with L.A. Mayor, Eric Garcetti said paraphrasing (because I cant find the official transcript on CNN): "This has been embaraced by 99.9% of people. We see it in the cell phone data, we see it in the traffic data but we are going to hunt down that last 0.1% and say you gotta get inside, you gotta cut it out, and you have to distance" - LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.
https://video.foxnews.com/v/6151542277001#sp=show-clips
Fast forward to 3:50 if you loath fox news for video confirmation.
So in the end, what level of authority of will be granted to the government officials? Voluntary Quarantine. Mandatory Quarantine, Jailing etc...
What if it is "the global killer" disease they are trying to break transmission of. What authourity will be granted , summary execution of potential carriers - because there app told them you were within a certain distance of a potential carrier for a certain duration of time? Where does it end?