Many solutions are proposed to reverse the global pandemic that affects us. We now have to add the proposal from Apple and Google. They announced this Friday that together they would develop an ambitious system. It would notify you if you were in contact with someone who tested positive for covid-19 and followed the coronavirus from your phone. According to both companies, data protection issues are taken into account in this approach. People would participate voluntarily and anonymously. It would work by using Bluetooth signals from smartphones. They would be used in an encrypted data mechanism to warn of potential infection risks.
Does privacy break?
According to the companies, neither GPS location data nor personal information would be recorded. "Data protection, transparency and consent are of the utmost importance in this effort. We look forward to building this functionality in consultation with stakeholders," said a joint statement. "We will openly post information about our work so that others can analyze it "Donald Trump said his government needed time to think about the evolution of technology.
"It's very interesting. But many people are concerned with individual freedom, "he said during a conference in the White House. The European Union's data protection officer was more positive." The initiative needs to be further evaluated. But it seems to tick the right boxes. Especially in terms of user selection, data protection through design and Europe-wide interoperability, "he said.
The success of the initiative depends on whether enough people are tested for the covid-19. Something that doesn't happen in many countries.
Some countries are already using people's phones to send out contagion alerts. Other health authorities such as the UK, France and Germany are working on their own initiatives. Different US states You are also about to accept an application.
Connect dots
Apple and Google strive to reconcile all of these. This would make the applications interoperable. Contact tracking would continue to work if people travel abroad and come into contact with people using another tool.
If successful, the program could help countries relax their borders. And border restrictions.
The companies hope to launch a mechanism called Software Building Block in mid-May. An application programming interface that can be used to synchronize third-party applications.
The records would be stored on remote computer servers. Companies say they could not be used to expose an individual's true identity.
The contact comparison would take place on the phones. Not centrally on servers. In the second phase of the initiative, contact tracking functions are created on the iOS and Android operating systems. Users can enable and disable this mode without having to download an application.
You will soon be able to help in this fight in other ways. Track the corona virus from your phone … or let them track you.
