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Other than China, where opt-in isn’t a matter of choice, no other country is yet to successfully get citizens to adopt #COVID19 contact tracing apps.
Many dimensions to this, but a critical reason why people are wary is cos of deep lack of trust in govts & their intent.#SVGPoV
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 14, 2020
No easy answers to this, but let’s set some context:
1 – lets be clear, we need an app like this help control the virus
2 – we need to use Bluetooth and cannot solely depend on tower locations which can be fuzzy at times
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
3 – but fact is citizens don’t trust the government enough to allow for more surveillance
4 – the fact is also that such an app will be a complete failure if a critical mass of users isn’t achieved
5 – what we need is an industry body to govern this that underwrites privacy
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
6 – what we also need are updated data privacy laws that dont keep government out of the purview and don’t give them overarching rights
7 – then the governments need to mandate @apple and @google to guarantee no data abuse and be totally transparent with data collection & use.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
8 – IMP to consider that such an app, irrespective of country, will have limited success with two most vulnerable sections of society – elderly who are compliant with directives but struggle with tech & the younger lot that doesn’t know about compliance & always doesnt have tech.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
9 – what the contact tracing apps must provision for is for individuals to have the ability to download the data that is being collected about them at all points in time & also give them the right opt-out in case they don’t feel comfortable with how their data is being used.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
10 – going back to what I said about updating IT and Data Privacy acts. These must make provisions for citizens to take to court both govt and private corporations in case any breach is witnessed. An app of this nature also must not have an upper limit on the claim amount.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
I received an interesting pov (on DM) reg point 1 wherein I said contact tracing apps will be critical to fight the battle against #COVID19 – think of it this way, to truly flatten the curve, testing solves only part of the puzzle and we need the ability to ‘follow through’.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
12 – If we truly want to open sections of society and restore normalcy in select parts of the economy, it will require collective action from all.
This includes the willingness to be tested, to be traced, and more importantly, the ability of the govt to contact and contain you.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
14 – what @apple @google & govts must consider though (which Im sure they already are) is the need to reduce false positives.
Like cellphone towers, Bluetooth also has inherent weaknesses & it’s near impossible to identify contact in 15ft radius – so imagine both + / – cases.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
15 – an important aspect to consider here is also the partnership between @apple and @google.
– a highly unusual partnership.
– questionable commitment without clear 💵 outcomes.
– given how they both are involved in monetisation of consumer data, this needs new legislations.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
16 – more on the partnership and the resulting privacy violations (if at all), there is also a growing sense with some consumers of their readiness to share personal data if it truly helps solves such pandemics.
While that sentiment is great, we need the safeguarding from law.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
17 – further, it also must be pointed out that while both @apple and @google go to lengths to protect personal information and anonymise data before monetising it, what is critical to remember is that the nature of attacks in case of breach of such data is still “unknown”.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
18 – it is also interesting to note that what Apple and Google are ultimately building is a framework that will allow developers to build apps on top of that. Essentially, the two giants are building a bare shell building that can be fitted out to suit local needs & requirements.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
19 – given this premise, of course both Google and Apple will build this functionality in the OS itself to allow for mass availability and to their credit they have disclosed not collecting location data, but let’s not miss how apps can potentially ask for it & also override it.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
20 – another revelation (sort of) that is important to consider is that while downloading contact tracing apps are voluntary (at least currently), they can easily and quickly be linked to other systems like social security numbers and tax fillings to enforce users to adopt.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
21 – but we ought to be careful here, for we may be collectively creating a monster that is unstoppable at a later point in time. No, this isn’t fear mongering but pure pragmatism at work. A ton of examples exist in history where systems of mass surveillance were created & abused
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
23 – but to have the ability to track, trace, contact and contain at scale will be undoubtedly a great ammunition to have.
What govts must first & foremost focus on is social distancing, mass testing, and complete isolation of its citizens. An app merely will augment all this.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
24 – we cannot undermine the coming together of @apple and @google to work together (and agree upon) a common framework that will ultimately be part of their OS. It’s not everyday that such sweeping standardisations are achievable and the ability to “switch it on” is a great win.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
25 – what is also relevant to this thread is the debate on #data localisation.
While it’s a no-brainer that data must be hosted locally to comply with #privacy laws, what it doesn’t guarantee against, is the looming threats of cyber attacks and other #cybersecurity issues.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
26 – when architecting such projects, it’s also imperative to keep in mind the need to share data with other countries openly to be able to make progress. Of course, we need to tap into technology like #Blockchain and #AI that can act as game-changers in this entire premise.
— Sanchit Vir Gogia (@s_v_g) April 15, 2020
Analyst:
Sanchit Vir Gogia: Sanchit is the Chief Analyst, Founder & CEO of Greyhound Research, a Global, Award-Winning, Technology & Innovation Research & Advisory firm. To read more about him, click here.
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