Emails

Coronavirus: Trace under pressure

By
QZ
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Hello Quartz readers,

If coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s that we should have been wearing sweatpants to work all along. Also that the decisions we make impact those around us, and in a globalized world, “around us” is more fluid than ever.

So why not make one great decision today, and forward this email to a friend, family member, colleague, nemesis, distant relative, childhood crush, or out-of-touch celebrity. (You can also ask them to sign up here.) Not sure what to say? Try “This is the ONLY email worth reading about coronavirus,” or “Check out these pun-loving dorks,” or “See Mom, this is why you have to stop going to Zumba!!” Just know that no matter who you introduce to us—or why—we’re deeply grateful.

Let’s get started.

Trace yourself

When someone tests positive for SARS-CoV-2, tracking down every one of their contacts is tough, brute-force work. It can take days to make phone calls, gather passenger manifests, talk to restaurant owners, and watch hours of surveillance footage. Technology provides an alternative: With more than 3 billion smartphone users in the world, apps can harness users’ movements to make all that legwork more accurate and efficient.

Several countries have implemented such apps using GPS, raising privacy concerns because the practice can sacrifice user anonymity. A second option, favored by privacy advocates, uses Bluetooth, the same 30-year-old wireless standard that lets you play Spotify in your car or link your smartphone to your wireless earbuds.

Image for article titled Coronavirus: Trace under pressure

The first reported example of Bluetooth-based contact tracing to combat coronavirus is in Singapore, which launched its TraceTogether app on March 20. The app now has 1.1 million users, just under 20% of the country’s population.

🌎 The amazing trace 🌎

A handful of countries are already using data from mobile phones to follow the spread of coronavirus. Here are a few of them:

  • 🇨🇿 Czech Republic: Like in Singapore, the eRouska app employs a method of trading and logging unique short-lived, identifying codes over Bluetooth signals.
  • 🇦🇹 Austria: An app released by the Austrian Red Cross also uses a Bluetooth method similar to that of Singapore.
  • 🇿🇦 South Africa: The country is asking mobile-phone companies to provide location data for people suspected of being infected.
  • 🇮🇱 Israel: Using GPS data stored locally on the user’s phone, an app from Israel’s health ministry alerts users if they come in contact with a known infected person.

Others are still in the process of creating their own apps:

  • 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: An app in development by the National Health Service plans to use a method similar to Singapore.
  • 🇫🇷 France: Lawmakers in France plan to vote on the use of an app after Apple reportedly refused the government’s request to loosen privacy settings.
  • 🇺🇸 United States: Utah just released a beta app to “test and trace,” using both Bluetooth and location data. Other states may soon follow.

Location-tracking can be used for other purposes, too:

  • 🇰🇷 South Korea: For those who have been told to self-isolate after travel or infection, an app alerts case officers if a phone leaves the quarantine area.
  • 🇹🇼 Taiwan: The country uses the same geofencing approach to enforce its own quarantines.

Quartz members can tap into our continuously updated list of how every country is tracking Covid-19 and monitoring its citizens. (If you’re an out-of-touch celeb or other new reader, check out Quartz membership with a ✦ 7-day free trial.)

It follows

In theory, Bluetooth-based tracing apps are more secure than those using GPS and other location data: They don’t require the ability to find out who is being contacted, and no data needs to be stored in a single location. But all tracing initiatives are up against a major question: What’s the right balance between efficacy and privacy?

Already, conflict seems inevitable between the companies building the technology and the public health authorities that need data to keep citizens safe. Google and Apple, which will soon unveil an application programming interface (API) to support digital contact-tracing apps, intend to put strict limits on how health agencies can access the data. Makes sense: It’s in their best interest to protect the privacy of their smartphone customers. But some of the companies’ government and health-authority partners don’t like those limitations.

The UK’s NHS, for example, wants to collect information on population flows in the aggregate, plus other detailed features to track the spread of the virus. It’s now reportedly sparring with the tech giants. France’s StopCovid app is running into obstacles as well. The app in its current form would give the French government the ability to re-identify users, reported the BBC this week, which is forbidden under the draft policies outlined by the companies.

Disagreements persist even among those behind the digital contact-tracing platforms. Should governments use Bluetooth to ensure that infected people don’t violate their quarantine? Could health authorities use GPS data to identify coronavirus hot spots? As the pandemic persists, debating these trade-offs will only get thornier.

For now, tech giants have made some caveats in the interest of things running smoothly. Normally, an app that uses Bluetooth can’t operate in the background, unless it’s streaming audio or has your explicit permission. The companies said they will make exceptions for digital contact tracing. But in a press call this week, they refused to back down on other restrictions, saying they are important to keep governments from using contact tracing for mass surveillance.

Would you download a tracing app?

📱Yes, I’m an open book, er, phone.

🤨 I’d need to know a lot more information.

📵 I’ve got a baaaad feeling about this.

Essential reading

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