Page - 275 - in VULNERABLE - The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19

275Privacy, Ethics, and Contact-Tracing Apps in automated systems.27 A similar problematic impact could then be users relaxing their risk management approach, even shirking public health messaging, because of this false sense of security.28 For contact-tracing apps with an AI dimension, even if uptake is well under 60%, the app may be useful for analytics purposes or to support AI research and development because of the personal data collected. Even if the app allows, through consent agreements, for transparency regarding the uses of personal data (for contact tracing or analytics), questions linger about whether this is equitable and fair, again in this context of widespread anxiety and vulnerability. There are a host of justice-related questions raised by all types of contact-tracing apps. Employers may refuse to allow employees to return to work, or businesses may deny access to individuals who cannot demonstrate that they are using the app. The dual use of contact- tracing apps as so-called “COVID passports” would under- mine the voluntary and consent-based approach underpinning these apps’ ethical uptake.29 This problem was flagged in the Australian PIA, and it was recommended that the risk be dealt with as part of a specific legislative framework for the app.30 It is also possible that not all people will have access to contact-tracing apps given an existing “digital divide” where not all individuals have cellphones, and some cellphones may not be capable of running the app.31 There may also be issues of accessibility in the use of the interface. Accessibility could include access for the visually impaired, as well as access for those without the necessary language skills to use the apps.32 Language bar- riers may make text-heavy notifications (such as privacy policies, con- sents, or information about the limitations of the app) inaccessible to some users. There is a wealth of research showing that most people 27. Linda J Skitka, Kathleen Mosier & Mark D Burdick, “Accountability and Automation Bias” (2000) 52:4 Intl J of Human-Computer Studies 701 at 701-17. 28. Jason Millar, “Five Ways a COVID-19 Contact-Tracing App Could Make Things Worse” (15 April 2020), online: Policy  Opinions <policyoptions.irpp.org/ magazines/april-2020/five-ways-a-covid-19-contact-tracing-app-could-make- things-worse/>. 29. “Social, legal, and ethical issues of Test-trace-isolate-quarantine strategies” (9 May 2020), online: Swiss  National  COVID-19  Science  Task  Force <ncs-tf.ch/de/ policy-briefs>. 30. See Australian Department of Health, supra note 13. 31. See Kelion, supra note 10. 32. See e.g. Tess Sheldon and Ravi Malhotra, “Not All In This Together: Disability Rights and COVID-19”, in Flood et al, eds, Law,  Policy  and  Ethics  of  COVID-19 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press) [forthcoming in July 2020].