Apps collecting data to help stop virus spread could invade privacy

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google’s (GOOG, GOOGL) joint initiative to build a platform that helps contain the spread of the coronavirus looks promising, but steps are needed to prevent it from becoming an invasion of privacy of users for the long term, a cybersecurity expert told CNBC.

Apple and Google say they are prioritizing privacy by making sure “that this information about who your contacts are, who you’ve been near, cannot be accessed for any other purposes,” but the reasons for collecting personal information must be made clear so people can see that the benefits outweigh the costs, said Josephine Wolff from Tufts University.

The tech giants recently unveiled a partnership to add technology to their smartphone platforms that will alert users if they have come into contact with a person with Covid-19.

“When you look at some of the alerts being sent out through the South Korean system, you have people’s genders, people’s ages, the neighborhoods where they live, the places where they work – a lot of information that you don’t necessarily need to share in order to alert somebody” to the presence of the virus, Wolff said.

“That’s going to be the really important question… how do we limit this use of information so it doesn’t turn into a mass invasion of privacy long term.”

https://seekingalpha.com/news/3560002-apps-collecting-data-to-help-stop-virus-spread-invade-privacy-expert-says