Read on Twitter
Just reading the @DRWAus take on the contact tracing app here: https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2020/04/24/covid-19-trace-app/">https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2020/04/2...
I& #39;m no fan of the app proposal. Earlier today I wrote that confidentiality is not just about data handling — confidentiality is constituted by social practices, which the privacy assessment regime completely overlooks. https://engagedpractx.tumblr.com/post/616438217401647104/contact-tracing-apps-and-the-social-practices-of">https://engagedpractx.tumblr.com/post/6164...
As I& #39;ve come to expect from DRW, their post is only interested in the subject matter in a glancing way — it functions to tee them up for their preferred rant about government data collection, international surveillance etc.
They& #39;re a lot like Socialist Alliance in this regard. >
They& #39;re a lot like Socialist Alliance in this regard. >
The DRW post argues against contact tracing—notifications on people& #39;s phones are enough:
& #39;If a user tests positive for the virus, that information could trigger notifications to be sent to contacts from that user’s phone, informing them to seek a test and quarantine.& #39;
& #39;If a user tests positive for the virus, that information could trigger notifications to be sent to contacts from that user’s phone, informing them to seek a test and quarantine.& #39;
That& #39;s a BIG departure from the approach that has brought epidemics under control in China and Australia.
It assumes people will just... do what they& #39;re told... based on an anonymous notification they receive on their phone.
It assumes people will just... do what they& #39;re told... based on an anonymous notification they receive on their phone.
I& #39;ve been critical of the panic about people leaving home for legitimate purposes like exercise, and the punitive policy responses authorised by that panic. But, let& #39;s be real, a non-trivial % of contacts need to be followed up with information, support, and reinforcement. >
As I pointed out in my post on confidentiality, if I& #39;ve had face time with five people this week, and I get a notification saying I need to stay home for 14 days, you& #39;d better believe I& #39;m going to wonder & #39;which one was it?& #39;
Some people will act on that in unpredictable ways. >
Some people will act on that in unpredictable ways. >
