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271Privacy,
Ethics, and Contact-Tracing Apps
individuals have not been tested due to lack of capacity.15 The app
being developed for the U.K. will use user-reported symptoms to
determine likelihood of infection.16 An AI-enabled assessment can
then trigger contact notification functions. To continue to develop and
enhance the AI, and to use the data collected for other AI analytics
related to understanding or modelling the disease, user-contributed
data could be treated differently, with users being asked to consent
to the inclusion of their de-identified self-reporting data in a central
database. An app under development in Canada would also use AI
and machine learning to supplement low rates of testing in order to
develop targeted risk profiles for individuals.17 With all AI-enabled
apps, the additional data collected would have research applications
that go beyond contact tracing.
Uptake and Use
Contact-tracing apps are not a magic bullet. In fact, many depend upon
considerable uptake and use by the public before they can have mean-
ingful impact. An Oxford University study of the U.K. app determined
that 56% uptake was required.18 The Australian government assessed
the necessary uptake rate for their app at 40%.19 The more privacy-
protective Bluetooth-only apps require greater rates of uptake since
these apps record only proximity with other app users. Apps that use
GPS or a combination of GPS and Bluetooth can provide data useful
15. Tonda MacCharles, âCanada Must Triple its COVID-19 Testing Before Loosening
Restrictions, Experts Sayâ, Toronto Star (23 April 2020), online: <www.thestar.
com/politics/federal/2020/04/22/canada-must-triple-its-covid-19-testing-before-
loosening-restrictions-experts-say.html>.
16. Hasan Chowdhury, Matthew Field & Margi Murphy, âNHS Contact Tracing
App: How Does it Work and When Can You Download It?â, The Telegraph
(10 May 2020), online: <www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/05/10/nhs-contact-
tracing-app-download/>.
17. Martin Patriquin, âMontreal Computer Scientists Expect to Launch Contact-
Tracing App in Less than a Weekâ, The Logic (9 April 2020), online: <thelogic.
co/news/montreal-computer-scientists-expect-to-launch-contact-tracing-app-in-
less-than-a-week/>.
18. Robert Hinch et al, âEffective Configurations of a Digital Contact Tracing App: A
report to NHSXâ (16 April 2020), online (pdf): University of Oxford <cdn.thecon-
versation.com/static_files/files/1009/Report_-_Effective_App_Configurations.
pdf?1587531217>.
19. Asha Barbaschow, âMorrison Says Using COVID-19 Tracing App a Matter of
âNational Serviceââ (17 April 2020), online: ZDNet <www.zdnet.com/article/
morrison-says-using-covid-19-tracing-app-a-matter-of-national-service/>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International