The big guns are out supporting the Australian Govt’s COVID19 App…
Lawyers Weekly (Aus) reports
Partners, global heads and specialists in technology and privacy law have signed an open letter in support of the COVIDSafe app. Lawyers Weekly spoke to some of those signees on why they support the government’s coronavirus tracking app.
Only a week ago, the Australian government launched COVIDSafe, an app designed with the intention of tracing the movements of a person infected with the coronavirus to ensure health authorities can contact anyone that might also be infected.
In the first week there were 4 million downloads, but a significant slowdown due to the privacy concerns may see the app come to a standstill. To inspire confidence, 48 lawyers across the technology and privacy space signed an open letter stating they have reviewed the government’s app and have personally decided it was worth downloading.
According to Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) global head of technology and innovation Nick Abrahams, the question of whether to download the app boiled down to the benefits: “Do the benefits, the health and economic benefits, outweigh the privacy?”
“For me, [this letter] was saying I have written a book on privacy, I practice in privacy and I think about it a lot. With that background, I have reviewed the COVIDSafe app and I am comfortable to download it,” Mr Abrahams told Lawyers Weekly.
COVIDSafe records when two people with the app have spent more than the 15 minutes needed to contract the virus together. It deletes the information after 21 days and will only be uploaded by a health authority with express consent from the individual.
Learn more about the app at Aus Govt here. https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/covidsafe-app
