CORONAVIRUS TRACING APP: A TEST FOR PRIVACY-MINDED
Germany launched a coronavirus tracing app Tuesday that officials say is so secure even government ministers can use it. Smartphone apps have been touted as a high-tech tool in the effort to track down potential COVID-19 infections. Experts say finding new cases quickly is key to clamping down on fresh clusters, especially as countries slowly emerge from lockdowns and try to avoid a second wave of infections and deaths. But governments in Europe have run into legal and cultural hurdles, trying to reconcile the need for effective tracing with the continent's strict data privacy standards.
Germany, where a person's right to their own data even after death is rooted in the constitution, has proved a particular challenge. Early government suggestions about using location data including cell tower information and GPS coordinates for the app prompted a swift backlash.
"Tracking where a person is in real time, that does remind us of China and its surveillance system," said Frederick Richter, who heads the independent Foundation for Data Protection. It also recalls Germany's own history of dictatorships. Both the Nazis and East Germany's communist regime amassed vast amounts of information to persecute dissidents and undesirables. "That's why we have always been very sensitive in Germany when it comes to the state collecting information," Richter said.
The app scans the user's surroundings and records which other smartphones with the app are nearby and for how long. If someone using the app tests positive for COVID-19, they can inform others who were in close proximity for at least 15 minutes that they, too, might be infected. The German government insists users will have full control over their data. There's no requirement to download the app. It's up to the user to confirm their test results and trigger the process of informing contacts they might have been exposed.
The opposition Left party, meanwhile, has called for a law to ensure that private businesses don't try to push customers or employees into using the app, either through incentives or sanctions.
A major glitch could hurt uptake. On Monday, Norway suspended use of its track and trace app after a public spat between health authorities and the information watchdog. At Berlin's Friedrichstrasse train station, commuters appeared cautious when asked whether they would download the German app. Klaudia Kruczkiewicz said using a smartphone to scan her surroundings felt "a bit creepy," but wouldn't rule out signing up. "First I'd need to see how it works," she said. "But otherwise, at the moment, I'm keeping my distance. I always wear a mask. I don't need this app."