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technology Tuesday 5 May 2020
European virus tracing apps highlight battle for privacy

By KELVIN CHAN veloping because it would
AP Business Writer take too long, said Mat-
LONDON (AP) — Good- thew Gould, CEO of the
bye lockdown, hello smart- National Health Service’s
phone. digital unit overseeing its
As governments race to development. The British
develop mobile tracing app is weeks away from
apps to help contain infec- being “technically ready”
tions, attention is turning to for deployment, he told a
how officials will ensure us- Parliamentary committee.
ers’ privacy. The debate is Later versions of the app
especially urgent in Europe, would let users upload an
which has been one of the anonymized list of people
hardest-hit regions in the they’ve been in contact
world, with nearly 140,000 with and location data, to
people killed by COVID-19. help draw a “social graph”
The use of monitoring tech- of how the virus spreads
nology, however, may through contact, Gould
evoke bitter memories of said.q
massive surveillance by
totalitarian authorities in
much of the continent.
The European Union has in
recent years led the way A soldier of the Swiss army wearing a protective face mask holds a smartphone with an app using
globally to protect peo- Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (DP-3T) during a test with 100 soldiers in the
military compound of Chamblon near Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, Thursday, April 30, 2020.
ple’s digital privacy, intro- Associated Press.
ducing strict laws for tech
companies and web sites like those used by Hong sion creep, result in systems ers look to Europe,” and
that collect personal infor- Kong, just won’t fly. which would allow unprec- will expect the continent
mation. Academics and The contact-tracing solu- edented surveillance of so- to take an approach that
civil liberties activists are tion gaining the most at- ciety at large.” preserves privacy, he said.
now pushing for greater tention involves using low Apple and Google waded COUNTRY BY COUNTRY
personal data protection in energy Bluetooth signals on into the fray by backing the European countries have
the new apps as well. mobile phones to anony- decentralized approach as started embracing the
Here’s a look at the issues. mously track users who they unveiled a joint effort decentralized approach,
WHY AN APP? come into extended con- to develop virus-fighting including Austria, Estonia,
European authorities, un- tact with each other. Offi- digital tools. The tech giants Switzerland, and Ireland.
der pressure to ease lock- cials in western democra- are releasing a software Germany and Italy are also
down restrictions in place cies say the apps must be interface so public health adopting it, changing tack
for months in some coun- voluntary. agencies can integrate after initially planning to
tries, want to make sure RIVAL DESIGNS their apps with iPhone and use the centralized model.
infections don’t rise once The battle in Europe has Android operating systems, But there are notable ex-
confinements end. One centered on competing and plan to release their ceptions, raising the risk dif-
method is to trace who in- systems for Bluetooth apps. own apps later. ferent apps won’t be able
fected people come into One German-led project, The EU’s executive Com- to talk to each other when
contact with and inform Pan-European Privacy- mission warned that a users cross Europe’s bor-
them of potential exposure Preserving Proximity Trac- fragmented approach to ders.
so they can self-isolate. ing, or PEPP-PT, which re- tracing apps hurt the fight EU member France wants
Traditional methods involv- ceived early backing from against the virus and called its own centralized system
ing in-person interviews of 130 researchers, involves for coordination as it un- but is in a standoff with Ap-
patients are time consum- data uploaded to a cen- veiled a digital “toolbox” ple over a technical hurdle
ing and labor intensive, so tral server. However, some for member countries to that prevents its system
countries want an auto- academics grew con- build their apps with. from being used with iOS.
mated solution in the form cerned about the project’s BEYOND BORDERS The government’s digital
of smartphone contact risks and threw their support The approach Europe minister wants it ready for
tracing apps. But there are behind a competing Swiss- chooses will have wider testing in “real conditions”
fears that new tech track- led project, Decentralized implications beyond the by May 11 but a legislative
ing tools are a gateway to Privacy-Preserving Proxim- practical level of develop- debate on the app was
expanded surveillance. ity Tracing, or DP3T. ing tracing apps that work delayed after scientists and
EUROPEAN STANDARDS Privacy advocates support across borders, including researchers warned of sur-
Intrusive digital tools em- a decentralized system be- the many found in the EU. veillance risks.
ployed by Asian govern- cause anonymous data “How we do this, what Some non EU-members are
ments that successfully is kept only on devices. safeguards we put in, what going their own way. Nor-
contained their virus out- Some governments are fundamental rights we look way rolled out one of the
breaks won’t withstand backing the centralized very carefully at,” will influ- earliest - and most invasive
scrutiny in Europe. Resi- model because it could ence other places, said - apps, Smittestopp, which
dents of the EU cherish their provide more data to aid Michael Veale, a lecture uses both GPS and Blue-
privacy rights so compulso- decisionmaking, but near- in digital rights at Univer- tooth to collect data and
ry apps, like South Korea’s, ly 600 scientists from more sity College London who’s uploads it to central servers
which alerts authorities if us- than two dozen countries working on the DP3T proj- every hour.
ers leave their home, or lo- have signed an open letter ect. “Countries do look to Britain rejected the system
cation tracking wristbands, warning this could, “via mis- Europe and campaign- Apple and Google are de-