Val Hooper, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Gordon Anderson, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington, and Stephen Blumenfeld, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
With more people working from home post-COVID-19, what are the privacy implications of employers using spyware to monitor worker activity?
Smartphone apps and wearable devices can tell when workers have been within six feet of each other, promising to help curb the coronavirus. But they’re not all the same when it comes to privacy.
The NZ COVID Tracer app helps you keep track of places you visit in New Zealand, in case anyone infected also visited. But the app has some shortcomings that won’t be fixed until June at the earliest.
The COVIDSafe app hasn’t come out of nowhere. The promises of ‘smart city’ data collection may be seductive, but we must always weigh up what we’re being asked to give up in return.
Technology has made life under coronavirus workable and bearable for a great many. But will it mean further intrusions into our privacy that normally would be unacceptable?
Contact tracing is being touted as essential to controlling the spread of COVID-19, but it comes with alarming concerns related to our rights to privacy.
As governments consider the use of surveillance technologies to trace and contain the spread of COVID-19, it is important to consider human rights in the implementation.
Bluetooth wireless communication makes it possible to track when people have been exposed to people infected with the coronavirus. The right cryptography scheme keeps alerts about exposures private.
Zoom’s privacy and security shortcomings are just the latest videoconferencing vulnerabilities. Knowing each platform’s risks can help people avoid many of the downsides of virtual gatherings.
Cellphone data can show who coronavirus patients interacted with, which can help isolate infected people before they feel ill. But how digital contact tracing is implemented matters.
It’s important to strike a balance between protecting Americans’ privacy and having accurate statistics for governments and businesses to make data-based decisions.
Jon MacKay, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Automated text messages if your phone detects you’re a long way from home, or discounted home internet, are just a few possible technology solutions to make New Zealanders “stay home to save lives”.