U.S. senator says Apple, Google need to show contact tracing will not violate privacy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Smartphone software makers Alphabet’s Google and Apple will have to convince the public that any apps to help track who has been exposed to the new coronavirus will not lead to a violation of their privacy, Senator Richard Blumenthal said on Wednesday.

“Apple and Google have a lot of work to do to convince a rightfully skeptical public that they are fully serious about the privacy and security of their contact tracing efforts,” he said in an email statement.

A critical factor in re-opening economies shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic is the ability to track and identify who has come into contact with carriers so that public health officials can control a resurgence of the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus.

Contact tracing used to control the spread of infectious diseases received a boost recently when Google and Apple said they were collaborating on apps that can identify people who have crossed paths with a contagious person and alert them.

“I urgently want to know how Apple and Google will assure that consumers’ privacy interests are strongly balanced with the legitimate needs of public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Blumenthal, who has been outspoken about privacy issues raised by the powerful tech companies.

“A public health crisis cannot be a pretense to pave over our privacy laws or legitimize tech companies’ intrusive data collection about American’s personal lives,” he said.

Apple had no comment on Blumenthal’s remarks but pointed to its release with Google which said that “privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance.”

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.