Christine S. Wilson, Commissioner, of the Federal Trade Commission https://www.ftc.gov presented her remarks at the Privacy + Private Academy virtual event held May 7, 2020 on the topic “Privacy and Public/Private Partnerships in a Pandemic”.
She reports, “According to the “Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery” (April 21, 2020), new technology particularly in the form of comprehensive contact tracing is the key to safely easing quarantines to help resume normal economic and social life. However, all of these efforts require the extensive collection and analysis of sensitive data in connection with people’s movements and health.”
Contact tracing requires locating all individuals with whom an infected person has come into close contact. So far, experience teaches that contact tracing is effective if infection levels are relatively low according to a paper by the Brookings Institute.
Several partnerships have been formed to address contact tracing. Apple and Google recently announced a Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform and invited public health authorities to build apps for the platform. The network relies on Bluetooth rather than location to detect proximity to other devices and alerts users to determine if they have come into contact with infected individuals.
As for privacy, both Apple and Google have stated that the system will not collect personally identifiable information or user location data. They have also promised that those sharing a diagnosis via the app, will not have their identities disclosed to companies or other users. The data will be used only by public health officials.
In another partnership, Microsoft and the University of Washington have produced a contact-tracing app called “CovidSafe”. This app according to news reports, will use the GPS location data in an infected person’s phone to allow public health authorities to post alerts disclosing the locations visited by the person with COVID-19. Individuals can then use the app to cross reference the location data in their phones to determine if they were at that location at the same time.
Christine Wilson’s concern is how tech driven initiatives not only in the U.S, but in other countries, will affect consumer privacy. She understands how for a short time, health and safety issues may take precedence over some privacy protections but also recognizes how the potential for tech-driven solutions would help to mitigate the spread of the disease.
She has several concerns related to consumer privacy:
- If you test positive for COVID-19, the information will be given to public health authorities
- Private companies have dealt with personal data for years. However, today this information and different types of data can be collected and shared with third parties
- The U.S has laws such as HIPAA to protect people, but technological developments have created gaps in HIPAA enforcement
- There is the threat of constant surveillance with thermal cameras used to measure body temperatures. This could possibly enable a mobile app to determine a worker’s compliance with social distancing and also be able to track employees throughout the day
However, there have been some moves to enable privacy to coexist with a public health response fueled by big data. The introduction of comprehensive federal privacy legislation would be a good way to start.
As Christine Wilson reports, in the absence of comprehensive federal privacy legislation, the FTC is using its general consumer protection authority under narrow privacy statutes. Also, the FTC has urged technology companies to implement best practices to protect consumers’ private information.
She also mentioned that there are comprehensive resources protecting privacy outside of the FTC https://www.ftc.gov as the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) https://nist.gov within the Department of Commerce, offers a number of security and privacy materials. Also IAPP https://iapp.org and the App Association https://actionline.org have also published helpful resources along with trade associations and international organizations.
Go to https://ftc.gov/public-statements/2020/05/keynote-remarks-commissioner-christine-s-wilson-privacy-security-academy for the Christine S. Wilson’s remarks at the virtual Privacy + Security Event.