Q2: What do we need to dismantle and what do we need to create to replace state controlled healthcare systems as an effective COVID-19 response? #AbolitionistCOVID

COVID19 requires some form of contact tracing due to infectious nature of asymptomatic and newly infected people.

Governments around the world are trying to solve this issue with contact tracing apps, as traditional contact tracing, based on human interviews, is much slower.

But this approach could also incorporate and exacerbate existing surveillance-mediated racism. We know that the only way to protect this data from being misused is to not collect it.

Open code apps that are transparent about how they operate could be a safer option.

People deserve to know who has created the app, if it's voluntary or mandatory to sign up, what technologies it uses, and what level of privacy penetration it reaches once installed/uninstalled.

People deserve to know if there are any limitations on how the data will be used, how long it will be stored and if it will be destroyed after a certain period of time or does it get bought/passed on to another profit making company.

People also deserve to know how much data is being collected or if the collection is minimized to only essential things. Transparency and accountability for how these apps operate is absolutely necessary.

Bluetooth based apps provide more anonymity over GPS based apps. The DP-3T approach to contact tracing is secure, open sourced and decentralized, which might be a better option among others.

This zine discusses the possibility of digital contact tracing without sacrificing privacy https://ncase.me/contact-tracing/

Aimed at transparency, this project maintains a database of major contract tracing apps https://www.technologyreview.com/.../launching-mittr.../

This thread provides context on how contact tracing app from the Canadian federal government approaches privacy https://mobile.twitter.com/compthink/status/1289639286212423680?s=20

Lastly, heavy contact tracing becomes more necessary under an open economy. If fewer businesses were open, if more folks were able to stay home, more ppl might be able to map their own interactions w/in their communities, w/o having to rely on top-down or app-based approaches.