Apple and Google’s work to create a coronavirus contact-tracing program on their phones looks poised to hit a major snag in enlisting people to voluntarily participate.
Nearly 60% of people say they are unwilling or unable to use the coronavirus-exposure alert system, a new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found.
Half of respondents said they would not use the system, and 17% said they don’t have a smartphone or any cell phone.
Apple and Google have built a Bluetooth-based system for smartphones to track people’s interactions with coronavirus-infected people to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The companies say the system will require users to opt-in.
Apple and Google rolled out a beta version of the system primarily for developers this week, with more of the technology to become available later in May. Apple’s version is expected to be added to the company’s devices through an operating system update, which users can turn on, and Google plans to make its version accessible via an application downloaded to Android phones.
The companies say their contact-tracing system will not monitor user-location data and that the tech will not share the identities of coronavirus-infected persons, whose infections will be anonymously reported to the system.
Apple and Google appear to understand that the terminology “contact tracing” was initially interpreted to involve tracking users’ physical location, and they have more recently taken to emphasizing the technology as an “exposure notification” system. The draft documentation of the plan published on Apple’s website describes the system as “privacy-preserving contact tracing” and includes hyperlinks for more details on aspects of the system.
“All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems,” Apple says on its website. “Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.”
Google and Apple are monitoring Android and iPhone users’ mobility and travel plans to produce mobility reports that may help governments enforce social distancing guidelines and help researchers learn more about the spread of the coronavirus. Those efforts are separate from the technology involved in the contact-tracing collaboration.
Nonetheless, Americans are skeptical of Big Tech generally and Apple and Google’s plans in particular. Republicans appear far more skeptical of the technology than Democrats, according to the Washington Post, which conducted the poll.
The poll surveyed 1,008 adults from April 21-26 with a 3.5% margin of error for the overall sample and a 4% margin of error for smartphone users.
The political divide among users embracing the technology in the new polling is consistent with the Pew Research Center’s findings from earlier in April, which said 61% of Democrats viewed government tracking the cellphones of coronavirus-infected people as acceptable whereas 45% of Republicans felt the same way.
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May 01, 2020 at 08:15AM
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Apple and Google's smartphone coronavirus contact-tracing program to hit enlisting snag - Washington Times
"Smartphone" - Google News
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