Apple, Google say users to regulate virus 'tracing' tool

Collected
Apple and Google said Friday their coronavirus "contact tracing" technology would permit smartphone users to regulate their own data, and that the machine would likely be shut down following the pandemic ends.

The U.S. technology giants, engaged within an unprecedented collaboration to permit smartphones to communicate across their respective platforms, released new technical information on their program highlighting privacy protections in the initiative.

"Each user must make an explicit choice to turn on the technology. It can be turned off by the user at any time," according to a document released by the Silicon Valley firms.

"This system will not collect location data from your own device, and does not share the identities of other users to one another, Google or Apple. The user controls all data they would like to share, and the decision to talk about it."

The announcement includes health agencies all over the world scrambling to develop software that use the wireless Bluetooth technology in smartphones to help track the spread of the disease by detecting when someone has been around proximity to an infected person.

The underlying technology being produced by Google and Apple, expected in early May, has rankled some officials in Europe seeking central control of the tracing data.

The Apple-Google document said public health authorities would have access to the technology but that any apps "must meet specific conditions around privacy, security, and data control."

The firms added that "exposure notification data will be kept and processed on device," instead of on government servers.

That means authorities would be able to access "beacons" provided by users confirmed as positive for the virus, only when they have opted directly into sharing them.

The news headlines from Google and Apple comes amid heightened debate over digital "contact tracing" and its own privacy implications.

While experts say this of alert system can help slow the spread of the condition by informing people if they have crossed paths with an infected individual, privacy activists have warned against establishing databases that could be utilized for surveillance, even following the pandemic.

The two firms suggested this system may very well be switched off when the pandemic eases, to allay concerns over surveillance and privacy.

"Google and Apple can disable the exposure notification system on a regional basis when it's no longer needed," their document said.
Source: https://japantoday.com

Tags :

Share this news on:

Previous Story

Trending Topics

Archive