Cases low, so cannot justify privacy violation, Norways says, ending use of COVID app
Norway has suspended make use of its smartphone app designed to monitor and trace coronavirus contagions immediately after a public spat somewhere between health authorities and the information watchdog.
Geir Bukholm, an official at the Norwegian Institute of General public Health, said your choice Monday to delete data and halt any more facts gathering from the app “weakened the country’s preparedness” should the infection level increase. The app had been analyzed in three municipalities.
But the Norwegian Data Protection Agency explained, amidst other things, that the reduced infection rate intended data gathering on the software could no more be justified against personal privacy concerns.
Norway currently has between 50 and 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19, in line with the NIPH. There happen to be between 20 and 50 different cases each week.
Fearing a second wave or localized distributed of the infection, medical directorate will argue in a gathering with the info watchdog on Friday that the technology should be turned back on.
European governments have already been rolling away smartphone tracing apps to help beat back any kind of clean coronavirus outbreaks. Norway was among the first from the blocks but its “Smittestopp” raised problems since it used GPS tracking and uploaded info to central servers every hour.
The iphone app was suspended before an Amnesty International report analyzing contact tracing software from Europe, the center East and North Africa, which found that the Norwegian app was just about the most alarming for privacy as a result of its “live or near-live tracking of users’ locations.” The privileges group said it shared its results with authorities previous this month and urged them to improve course.
“This episode should become a warning to all or any governments rushing ahead with software that are invasive and designed in a way that puts human rights at risk,” said Claudio Guarnieri, head of Amnesty’s Security Lab.
Various other countries such as for example Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Latvia are adopting a “decentralized” approach using a Google-Apple software interface that authorities say is better for privacy because keeps data about contacts in iPhones and Google android devices.
