The Coronavirus pandemic has impacted a lot of industries all over the world.
So many countries are experiencing unprecedented economic meltdown leading to calls to find a way to salvage whatever is left.
This has led to different suggestions with one being the implementation of contact tracing apps to checkmate the virus spread whilst effectively maintaining social distancing.
The NHS UK Covid-19 contact tracing app beta
Countries are rushing to develop mobile tracing apps, hoping that the smartphone technology could help to reopen borders without unleashing a second wave of the pandemic.
But in the midst of all these easy-peasy split decisions, can we all just stop for a second and consider the threats that comes with implementing this?
A penny for your thoughts on the privacy breaches and long government surveillance that will ensure even after the virus crisis has eased.
It must be debated that we’ve already lost a sizeable amount of our personal data to leading tech giants so what’s the cause for alarm?
But then, are we going to give in so cheaply and allow more of our data aunctioned with ease on the dark web?
Who is making these Apps?
Google and Apple Inc. are the frontrunners for developing these apps.
Public health authorities, developers and the entire tech ecosystem all also working on apps to help us keep track of who we came in contact with and where we’ve been to aid in Covid-19 contact-tracing efforts.
The apps is understood to use Bluetooth short-range wireless to identify those who have come into contact with people infected with the virus.
The problem is that both Google and Apple restrict how apps can use Bluetooth in iOS and Android.
They don’t allow developers to constantly broadcast Bluetooth signals, as that sort of background broadcast has been exploited in the past for targeted advertising.
As per reports, iOS apps can only send Bluetooth signals when the app is running in the foreground while latest versions of Android have similar restrictions, only allowing Bluetooth signals to be sent out for a few minutes after an app has closed.
We definitely acknowledge that contact-tracing apps aim to help health authorities trace paths of infection, and in many cases, to notify users that they’ve been near a person infected by Covid-19.
But asides the privacy and security concerns, here’s the many logical downsides…
- One, the app’s location and proximity systems — based on GPS and Bluetooth — just aren’t accurate enough to capture every contact.
- Two, the app won’t be aware of any extenuating circumstances, like walls or partitions in buildings. This alone might result in the App inability to register a contact when I occurs.
Imagine you walk into Everyday Supermarket and the app alerts you of a possible contact. What should you do?
I’ll like to hear your take and possible decision in this kind of scenario…
Subsequently, what if you walk in on same store and it doesn’t alert you of any contact. Does that imply you’re all clear?
Of course not! You might probably have no idea you’re infected already.
Yet we should have in mind they while the entire world is trying to solve one big problem, they might just be creating a lot more small ones.
In the end, the only real tool we have is quarantine; the main question facing us is how to use it most efficiently, to maximise the cost/benefit balance.
It’s possible that the virus contact tracing apps can be great complementary tools and will play a small role in that, though not in the simple way that you and I imagine.
Originally Posted On NaijaTechGuy
No comments:
Post a Comment