{"id":147510,"date":"2021-01-05T12:45:15","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/singapore-admits-police-can-access-contact-tracing-data\/"},"modified":"2021-01-05T12:45:15","modified_gmt":"2021-01-05T09:45:15","slug":"singapore-admits-police-can-access-contact-tracing-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/singapore-admits-police-can-access-contact-tracing-data\/","title":{"rendered":"#Singapore admits police can access contact-tracing data"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Singapore admits police can access contact-tracing data<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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\"The
\n The city-state has a programme called “TraceTogether” that a senior official admitted police could use to “obtain any data”
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Singapore has admitted data collected for contact-tracing can be accessed by police despite earlier assurances it would only be used to fight the coronavirus, sparking privacy concerns Tuesday about the scheme.<\/p>\n

The city-state has a programme called “TraceTogether” for tracking close contacts of COVID-19 patients, that works via both a phone app<\/a> and a dongle.<\/p>\n

Take-up was initially slow due to privacy worries but rose to almost 80 percent of residents after government assurances and a decision to make its use mandatory for accessing some public places like malls.<\/p>\n

However, a senior official admitted in parliament that police could “obtain any data”\u2014including information gathered through the contact-tracing programme\u2014in the course of a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishan said later that, to his knowledge, police had so far only accessed contact-tracing data on one occasion, during a murder probe. <\/p>\n

Human Rights Watch accused the government, which is regularly criticised for curtailing civil liberties, of “undermining the right to privacy”.<\/p>\n

The admission “exposes how the government has been covertly exploiting the pandemic to deepen its surveillance and control over the population,” Phil Robertson, the group’s Asia deputy director, told AFP.<\/p>\n

Singaporean freelance journalist and activist Kirsten Han said she was disappointed but not surprised.<\/p>\n

“Looking at the government’s record, I felt that it would be quite predictable that if they can do it, they will,” said Han.<\/p>\n

“It’s unfair and shows how little protection we have for our privacy against the government.”<\/p>\n

Speaking in parliament Tuesday, Balakrishan said the government was just being open when it made the admission. <\/p>\n

“We want to be completely above board and transparent,” he said.<\/p>\n

But there was much anger online, with some Singaporeans saying they felt betrayed. The city-state has only suffered a mild outbreak, with about 58,000 cases and 29 deaths.<\/p>\n

Many countries have rolled out contact-tracing programmes that work via a smartphone app, but take-up has been low in some due to privacy concerns.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Why people are reluctant to use COVID-19 contact-tracing apps<\/a>\n <\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Singapore admits police can access contact-tracing data (2021, January 5)
\n retrieved 5 January 2021
\n from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news<\/a>\/2021-01-singapore-police-access-contact-tracing.html<\/p>\n

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\n part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n