Apple and Google collaborate on a new API to help track Covid-19 transmission

[Redaktion]

Consumer tech has already been used for 'Covid-19 contact tracing' in Taiwan and South Korea already. Now, Google and Apple have jointly announced a new API to do the same using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It will apparently used voluntarily-donated, anonymized data on those infected with the virus to alert other users who may have been in transmission-range of them.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-and-Google-collaborate-on-a-new-API-to-help-track-Covid-19-transmission.461032.0.html

[anon]

In a way, privacy advocates might be for such a system, as long as it is entirely opt-in and cannot be used in a way the individual does not wish it to be used.

Only a minority of people would need to use such a system for there to be benefit, and so if enough people volunteer then there would be demonstrably no reason for the system to be forced on anyone else.

But I am still not convinced of this implementation. The privacy of this data should have both the force of technology (a good cryptographic system) and the law (HIPAA, no law enforcement backdoors via CALEA) behind it. In addition, I think the rollout of the system should not in any way benefit a future revision that might be used nefariously. I also see that the rollout through a Play Services update is not consensual.

[vrvly]

Now, would everyone wear iglasses, they would know exactly how and why. They would need 10th gen iglasses, 6G and access though. Otherwise its like playing around, if its spreading even beyond indirect touch.