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TECHNOLOGY Friday 24 april 2020
Belgian port to test virus bracelets amid tech tracing fears

By MARK CARLSON and two teams of port work- plastic, they vibrate when mation. "Social distancing experts and trade unions
LORNE COOK ers will be wearing next they move to within three and privacy is very impor- worry that they could be-
Associated Press month a bracelet originally meters (about 10 feet) of tant," said John Baekel- come invasive.
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — designed to find tugboat each other. The vibration mans, CEO of Rombit, the Isabelle Schoemann of
As the spread of the coro- the European Trade Union
navirus eases and people Confederation said the or-
gradually return to work ganization wasn't consult-
pondering the impact it ed about the testing. She
might have on their jobs, argues that most people
Europe's second-biggest don't need technology to
port is getting ready to test help them understand how
a device aimed at help- far away they should stand
ing thousands of people from their co-workers.
employed there to respect "We are kind of having a
social distancing. test on a real-life basis, and
At Antwerp in Belgium, it is a bit worrying that we
where some 900 compa- are testing that on people,
nies operate in an area and that we are testing
the size of a small town, that without having been
able to look into what kind
of guarantees this technol-
ogy would bring before the
test," Schoemann told The
Associated Press.
Nathalie Smuha, law and
ethics researcher and assis-
tant lecturer at the Univer-
sity of Leuven, expressed
concern about the un-
equal power relationship
between employers and
their staff. She called for a
democratic debate on the
legal, ethical and political
implications of using trac-
ing devices.
"We say that these tools
In this Wednesday, April 22, 2020 photo, deckhand Gerard Bakulikira, wears a Romware COVID should ideally be used on
Radius digital bracelet, which flashes red when he is too close to someone else, as he walks on a voluntary basis," Smuha
deck of a tugboat in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium.
Associated Press. told AP. But, she added,
"what choice do you have,
if otherwise you don't have
crew members that have strength, similar to that of company developing the a job and you cannot pro-
fallen overboard but now a mobile telephone but bracelets. "We do not store vide for your family?"
modified to help stop the more obvious when at- any data. There is no com- Beyond that, Smuha said,
spread of the disease. tached to a wrist, increases munication going out of people have an inher-
Until a vaccine is found, the closer the bracelets get the bracelets whatsoever. ent bias toward technol-
respecting Europe's rec- and warning lights flash. It's only there to keep peo- ogy that can lead us to
ommended safe distance "You have a helmet, and ple safe."In its guidance on think it makes no mistakes.
of 1.5 meters (around five your safety shoes, and the use of mobile phone This might incite us to take
feet), regular hand-wash- you have swimming vests. apps — not bracelets or greater risks, or go further,
ing and the use of masks All these kinds of things. wristbands — the Europe- than we otherwise would.
remain the best methods And now we're adding a an Commission says they "Once you start implement-
to defend against any new wearable on top of that should be managed by ing these things it's very dif-
virus outbreak. So, a mad to make sure that people public health authorities ficult to go back," she said.
scramble has begun to de- are safe. And if something and dismantled once they "Why only use it on the work
velop technologies to pre- goes wrong, that it is being are no longer needed. They floor? Maybe you should
vent its spread. detected as soon as pos- should be voluntary, and also use it on your way to
European countries are sible," Antwerp Port Chief no one should be punished work and back, and may-
designing contact tracing Technology Officer Erwin for refusing to use them. be you should also use it
apps for mobile phones Verstaelen said. Ideally, data would be pro- in a shop in order to have
to help locate outbreak The bracelets ensure physi- tected by state-of-the-art access."q
sources. While they're a cal distancing and collect encryption and only be
powerful force for good, no data. No plans have kept a limited time.
the various devices are been announced at the The potential benefits of
raising concerns about pri- port to use them to track apps and other devices are
vacy and just how intrusive workers' movements or easy to see. The virus has
they might become once measure their performance killed more than 100,000
they're in people's homes as some companies else- people in Europe and Brit-
or the workplace. where have explored do- ain, according to the Eu-
The bracelets are worn like ing. But they can be pro- ropean Centre for Disease
a watch. Coated in black grammed to provide infor- Prevention and Control. But