NHS app to track coronavirus infections

[Shehz21]

www.politicshome.com/news/article/ministers-hope-nhs-app-can-help-lift-lockdown-by-tracking-coronavirus-infections

It would only work if 60% of the population dowloaded it.

Would you?

[kingis]

No thanks. I am sure they would spy on me.

[lljkk]

This is the 3rd or 4th thread asking this exact same question is it govt way of trying to keep prompting us to get used to the idea?

[midgebabe]

Privacy concerns ...about government being able to build a good picture of where you go, what you do.,

Misuse of that data could be to manipulate you, like those Facebook/Cambridge analytica scandal. Or to check that you are behaving in the way they want you too.

In an authoritarian state that could include noticing if you go to the same pub or church as a dissident, guilty by association, or you may be guilty of not contributing enough in some way. In nazi Germany, talking to a Jew who had been your friend and neighbour suddenly became traitorous.

Although I can see risks, I can also see that it's our best chance at having a normal future

[StatisticallyChallenged]

I think it's a necessary part of getting us out of this heap of shit

[Shehz21]

@lljkk I didn't see no thread like this one. Atleast not when I posted this morning. Or maybe I just didn't notice. I posted few minutes after the article was posted.

I would definitely download it as I also believe it's such an important part of trying to go back to some level of normality after all this.

[Greendayz]

I think you have to get the civil liberties issues in perspective really - we've just had a massive, massive imposition on our civil liberties to meet with friends, families, partners, to work, to travel outside the home. This matters. We cannot possibly maintain this kind of lockdown for many months (economically, socially or politically) This app is something that could potentially help get us out of this lockdown, whilst avoiding tens of thousands of people dying. And people say they wouldn't use it because possibly (if they lied to us and anonymity wasn't maintained) the government might be able to know where you'd been? That seems such a small issue to me. Mumsnet knows your location btw. And has had data breaches in the past. If you're that paranoid I'd get off this forum!

[allanaw929]

I'd only use it if the government were using it in conjunction with mass testing. And I would want assurances that the data would only be used for the intended purpose and would never be shared with any 3rd parties. I also think that they should assure any users that they will delete all data after a certain period. This could actually work, but in all honesty I don't see enough people using it for it to have the desired effect.

[PowerslidePanda]

Privacy concerns ...about government being able to build a good picture of where you go, what you do.,

Misuse of that data could be to manipulate you, like those Facebook/Cambridge analytica scandal. Or to check that you are behaving in the way they want you too.

In an authoritarian state that could include noticing if you go to the same pub or church as a dissident, guilty by association, or you may be guilty of not contributing enough in some way. In nazi Germany, talking to a Jew who had been your friend and neighbour suddenly became traitorous.

But this data is already readily available to the government - through the triangulation of your mobile phone (have you ever watched Hunted?). The only new element is combining that data with information about suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases.

[MajesticWhine]

Yes I would. I don't see the issue. If it helps us restore normal life and keep people safe then yes.

[Abbccc]

Shitsgettingcrazy

I don't really care if there are any privacy violations - I'm not going anywhere I shouldn't be.

Well , in your opinion you're not, at the moment. What if what we can do and places we can go changes?

[florisandyoris]

No.
Matt Hancock was in talks with a company called Carbyne 911 which was set up by Jeffrey Epstein and ex Israeli PM Barak.
Their product is ostensibly an emergency 999 call system but it’s really a data harvesting tool.
It tracks your location, accesses your Camera feed, can piggy onto other local devices and harvest its data, camera feed etc
it also accesses your NHS records, and that of your kids.
They have sold large sharesof Carbyne to Chinese corporations that are involved in the aggressive Chinese citizen monitoring scheme.

[florisandyoris]

Basically Hancock was selling access to all uk health records and smartphone and laptop data to a company that was set up and funded by a convicted pedophile and child sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein.
Barak, the other main shareholder was seen at Epstein’s apartment on a regular basis ( photos of this in a news story in the Mail).

[Chelsea567]

Can't imagine anyone in government being the slightest bit interested in where I am - so yes, I'll download it

[RomeoLikedCapuletGirls]

This is one of the reasons South Korea have been so successful. In combination with mass testing that is.

[Bargebill19]

No. I don’t leave my blue tooth on. And it’s way too late at this stage to be of any use in my unprofessional opinion.

[florisandyoris]

www.forbes.com/sites/denizcam/2020/03/17/to-fight-coronavirus-new-orleans-is-using-a-911-app-backed-by-peter-thiels-founders-fund/#366f6669b065

Obviously they are trying to minimise Epstein’s involvement as it doesn’t look good. He provided the funds to start this company and was good friends with Barak.

[CrunchyCarrot]

The University of Cambridge's Prof Ross Anderson:

- raised concerns about how effective the tech would be unless everyone was regularly tested.
-flagged doubts about the use of Bluetooth, given that its signals can go through thin walls, meaning there could be false flags.
-warned about "trolling", suggesting that allowing people to report they were ill without any verification opened up the system to abuse.

"I recognise the overwhelming force of the public-health arguments for a centralised system, but I also have 25 years' experience of the NHS being incompetent at developing systems and repeatedly breaking their privacy promises when they do manage to collect some data of value to somebody else," added the professor of security engineering.

"I'm really uneasy about collecting lots of lightly-anonymised data in a system that becomes integrated into a whole-of-government response to the pandemic. We might never get rid of it."

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52263244

[CrunchyCarrot]

I don't really see what use it would be. Think about it. People can 'self-diagnose' and upload that as a status. So they aren't even going to be certain they have Covid-19 or not. So you get a text alert that a contact is self-diagnosed as having Covid-19. What are you going to do about it? There's no cure for it. There's nothing much you can do at that moment other than go home and worry.

[Geepipe]

This is a genuine question, why are people so afraid of the government potentially knowing their location? Like... do you not have a fixed address they can find you at 99% of the time anyway? Do you often go off grid into the woods and take a phone? I just cant work that argument out.

Yes i would download it and then just delete it again afterwards. Surely you only need to use bluetooth for the minute or 2 it takes to put in your answers then you can turn it off again.

[B1rdbra1n]

On the one hand I want to avoid a surveillance state🤔
On the other hand I want to get out of lockdown🤔
What if the unlock is conditional upon our accepting some form of surveillance?😳

[Geepipe]

Wrt surveilance surely the gov know where most people are most of the time? As i said you will have a fixed or known at address and be registered at drs and dentists your kids will go to schools. The gov knows all this already. Even without this app the police and gov can already track your phone anyway so i fail to see how this is any different.

[StatisticallyChallenged]

Geepipe I think you need bluetooth on all the time - I think this is how the devices will detect and transmit to each other so they "know" who you've been close to.

[TheHobbitMum]

Nope, I wouldn't download or use it right now. I've a lot of privacy concerns regarding it that would need to be addresses first

[B1rdbra1n]

Matt Hancock was in talks with a company called Carbyne 911
Ok that's not good is it 😳

[Bargebill19]

Hi