Contact Tracing Apps - The Ethical and Legal Issues

The technological responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have been profound, controversial and complex. Contact tracing apps have quickly become a component in many organizations’ and communities’ plans to combat COVID-19. However, just as quickly as ‘contact tracing’ entered conversations, so did privacy concerns. This article aims to discuss the ethical and legal challenges stemming from contact tracing apps.

What are Contact Tracing Apps?

At its most basic level, contact tracing apps are designed to track and alert people who have been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 of the need to self-isolate faster than traditional methods. Ideally, these apps play a key role in easing up social distancing measures.

The Crux of Privacy and Data Collection Issues

As contract tracing apps involve the extensive collection of personal data, with some apps including tracking phone activities,[1] it is critical that users believe that their data will be processed safely, securely and fairly. For contact tracing systems to be General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant, privacy notices must be comprehensive and transparent about the risks involved but easy to digest, and users must always have the right to opt-out without any negative consequences. UK‘s Information Commissioner’s Office has also advised app developers to only collect and store the minimum amount of data necessary to achieve the said purpose.[2]

Nonetheless, a common concern raised by privacy experts and consumers alike is the scope of data being collected by contact tracing apps, with location data being a particular point of concern.[3] With geo-location data being difficult or impossible to anonymize, many individuals are uneasy about the idea that the government – or a hacker – may be able to pinpoint where they go and when. Additionally, questions have been raised on whether the data collected through contact tracing may be retained for secondary purposes.

The Ethical Debate

The issue involves balancing the effectiveness of contact tracing apps against their potential detriments.

Researchers at Oxford University estimated that 60% of the population would need to use a contract tracing app for it to be effective, and no country has come close to that threshold.[4] Unsurprisingly, contact tracing apps could, however, exacerbate potential cyber-threat vectors, through phishing scams, ransomware and the like. Another concern heard in Britain is of social exclusion against individuals who do not carry a smartphone with the app installed. Some citizens cannot afford to acquire a smartphone, and some people, especially the elderly, have difficulty in knowing how to download or use an app.[5]

Thus, are heavy financial investments into contact tracing apps actually worth it?

Conclusion

Whether contact tracing apps should be used is debateable. Nonetheless, what is certain is that contact tracing apps cannot solve everything and will need to be combined with other efforts such as the responsible use of face masks and social distancing measures. Ultimately, it is the people who decide how well the UK will wage against Covid-19.

[1] Patrick Howell O’Neill, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Bobbi Johnson, ‘A flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it’s time to keep track of them’ (MIT Technology Review, May 2020)   <https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/05/07/1000961/launching-mittr-covid-tracing-tracker/> accessed 18 November 2020

[2] Jessica Davis, ‘COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps Spotlight Privacy, Security Rights’ (Health IT Security, May 2020) <https://healthitsecurity.com/news/covid-19-contact-tracing-apps-spotlight-privacy-security-rights> accessed 18 November 2020

[3] Chanley T. Howell and Chloe B. Talbert, ‘Privacy Risks and Implications of Contact Tracing Apps and Related Technologies’ (The National Law Review, August 2020) <https://www.natlawreview.com/article/privacy-risks-and-implications-contact-tracing-apps-and-related-technologies> accessed 18 November 2020

[4] Chiara Farronato, Marco Iansiti, Marcin Bartosiak, Stefano Denicolai, Luca Ferretti, and Roberto Fontana, ‘How to Get People to Actually Use Contact-Tracing Apps’ (Harvard Business Review, July 2020) <https://hbr.org/2020/07/how-to-get-people-to-actually-use-contact-tracing-apps> accessed 18 November 2020

[5] Anthony Speaight QC, Iain Munro and Anna Hoffmann, ‘Contact Tracing – The Ethical and Legal Issues’ (Lexology, June 2020) <https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f3ed62c2-060b-485e-8e30-9882e8e4ade5> accessed 18 November 2020