Read on Twitter
Lots of important and pertinent questions being asked regarding this and citizens' data privacy. Some info:
1) Privacy has not been recognized in our constitution as a fundamental right. However, case law shows the SC trying to balance privacy vs surveillance and privacy vs FoE. https://twitter.com/Jamz5251/status/1315852129169416192
1) Privacy has not been recognized in our constitution as a fundamental right. However, case law shows the SC trying to balance privacy vs surveillance and privacy vs FoE. https://twitter.com/Jamz5251/status/1315852129169416192
2) Privacy can be tricky to articulate or legislate, esp w regard to geographical, cultural specificities. As in, privacy may be understood and practiced differently in our cultural context than Europe or US so copy+paste solutions of privacy or data protection laws won't work.
3) However, there are various ways this has been managed in the past, though there are significant limitations on what kind of remedies and relief are available to citizens if the state violates our right to privacy. Check out Althaf Marsoof's 2008 paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1578222
4) We've also had a draft data protection law (Personal Data Protection Act - PDPA) in the works for a while though it was initiated by the previous govt so there's a high possibility of it being entirely dropped or starting from square one: http://www.mdiit.gov.lk/index.php/en/digital-news/item/73-data-protection-legislation
5) An Act like the PDPA, if and when passed, will be implemented in phases. I honestly haven't looked through it closely enough yet but some of the concerns around the GDPR like impact on SME's might still apply. One comparative analysis at https://www.mondaq.com/india/data-protection/956530/comparing-the-sri-lankan-personal-data-protection-bill-2019-and-the-gdpr
6) I've seen some people propose that QR codes or contact tracing apps or in-built contact tracing of phones be used instead of manual collection of data. Some of us have no privileges in gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. for the government to be a better choice.
7) Digital contact tracing of individuals can also come with exclusions (especially of working class people who are the most affected right now) and isn't a great option for many reasons including #1 and #4 in this thread: https://www.brookings.edu/techstream/inaccurate-and-insecure-why-contact-tracing-apps-could-be-a-disaster/
8) Some researchers say that digital contact tracing is effective only if 60% of the population downloads and uses the app. With our internet penetration at about 47% of the population, again there are questions about effectiveness and exclusions: https://www.research.ox.ac.uk/Article/2020-04-16-digital-contact-tracing-can-slow-or-even-stop-coronavirus-transmission-and-ease-us-out-of-lockdown
9) So what's the alternative? First thing is to change the framing. Currently the focus is on tracking individuals (along with related stigma, penalization, etc.) whereas this remains a *public* health crisis. So prioritizing contact tracing over mass testing is not effective.
10) While mass testing needs to be coupled with contact tracing, shifting the focus from individuals to groups and from giving up personal data to anonymous contact tracing might be viable solutions: https://globalnews.ca/news/6977095/coronavirus-contact-tracing-canada-reopens/
11) And esp for vulnerable groups of people (garment workers, LGBTIQ people, etc.) anonymity testing is also important. Which brings us back to what I said in #2. We have such little concept or practice of privacy that this is not even considered: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-12/anonymity-helped-overcome-stigma-in-korean-covid-nightclub-probe
12) While the privacy concerns around giving out our personal info to tuks are very valid and based on lived experiences, please also note the same concerns apply for all establishments we've been giving info to since the March lockdown.
Ps. Please flag if I've gotten anything wrong, this is by no means a comprehensive account. But I've tried to share an overview + articles to respond to some of the questions I've seen.
TL;DR Our privacy concerns are not misplaced but they shouldn't be just about tuk drivers.
TL;DR Our privacy concerns are not misplaced but they shouldn't be just about tuk drivers.
