US lawmaker Edward Markey says Covid-19 contact tracing tech should be voluntary, limited
- Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat and online privacy advocate, urged the Trump administration to balance public health needs with privacy rights
- Google and Apple are collaborating on technology to help identify people who have crossed paths with a contagious person and alert them
Senator Edward Markey, a Democrat and online privacy advocate, said in a letter released Wednesday that any digital coronavirus contact tracing should be voluntary, transparent and collect only the information needed to identify who might be at risk of contracting the respiratory ailment that has killed more than 45,000 people in the United States.
Markey urged President Donald Trump’s administration to balance public health needs as states seek to allow businesses to reopen their doors with the privacy rights of individuals who may be monitored.
“The federal government must provide leadership, coordination, and guidance to ensure that contact tracing efforts are effective and do not infringe upon individuals’ civil liberties, including the right to privacy,” Markey wrote in a letter to vice-president Mike Pence.
Markey urged that any contact tracing be limited to what is needed to track disease exposure, include investment in public health, and be voluntary, subject to enforceable rules and transparent about what data is collected and what happens to it.
He urged that a minimum of data be collected and that it be kept securely and discarded in a timely fashion.