Singapore confirms police will have access to Covid-19 contact-tracing data
- The technology, deployed as both a phone app and a physical device, is being used by nearly 80 per cent of the 5.7 million population
- Privacy concerns have been raised about such apps in various places, including Israel and South Korea.
The technology, deployed as both a phone app and a physical device, is being used by nearly 80 per cent of the 5.7 million population, authorities said after announcing its use would become compulsory in places like shopping malls.
The TraceTogether scheme, one of the most widely used in any country, has raised privacy fears but authorities have said the data is encrypted, stored locally and only tapped by authorities if individuals test positive for Covid-19.
“The Singapore Police Force is empowered … to obtain any data, including TraceTogether data, for criminal investigations,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan said in response to a question in parliament.
The privacy statement on the TraceTogether website says: “data will only be used for Covid-19 contact tracing”.
Privacy concerns have been raised about such apps in various places, including Israel and South Korea.