US and Europe compete to develop ‘contact tracking’ app

Western researchers and technicians are struggling to create apps that warn users infected with coronaviruses, as Western governments are considering ways to safely transition from domestic blockades in months.

Numerous mobile apps have been developed to facilitate so-called contact tracking. This allows you to use proximity or location data to notify people who have recently approached the infected individual and take precautionary measures such as self-isolation.

In the UK, government-sponsored projects (user opt-in) are underway in a hurry and may start in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, in the United States, patchwork for multi-state projects is expanding, and we are working more closely together recently.

Still, these digital pandemic countermeasures are Virus, Are still facing some hurdles. A particular challenge, according to Oxford researchers, is to achieve a sufficiently high level of recruitment-at least 60% of the target population, according to Oxford researchers-

Meanwhile, with increasing concerns that governments in countries such as China and South Korea are already using emergencies to implement surveillance, user privacy will comply with existing regulations and maintain public support Need to be protected in a way.

Kevin Esvelt, a US biologist and assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and part of the team developing Safe Paths, a US contact tracking app, said:

“[But] This is a widespread challenge, as we know that China does this in a way that does not protect privacy. “

Possibility of “fashion control”

Mobile tracing is rapidly emerging as one of the preferred solutions to slow the spread of Covid-19, and may be sent before someone infected with the virus begins to show symptoms.

A report released this week by medical and bioethicists at Oxford University found that digital contact tracing was “sufficient, especially because the community hoped to relax social distance rules while taking second defense. A number of people have found it possible to achieve epidemic control if used in a wave of infection.

Already, Asian countries have used this method with some success. According to MIT reports, the Singapore app TraceTogether has been downloaded one million times, but contract tracking in China has slowed the spread of the virus.

However, critics argued that their attempts violated users’ civil liberties, and pointed out that MIT reported in the media that Beijing appeared to share police and citizen data. South Korea, on the other hand, broadcasts the personal information of infected people when alerting others who may be infected. In Israel, shinbet security services are controversial Tap data Collected by mobile operators in the country.

However, one of the most popular forms emerging somewhere in the west has been an opt-in app that receives Bluetooth signals from other nearby phones and records them for a period of time. Privacy advocates have the least number of arrangements. Intrusive mobile tracking.

If an individual is positive, the app can usually be used to alert a central public authority (such as the Public Health Service). Central authorities can easily access the data to identify and notify other potentially infected users and protect infected people. Personal identity.

In the UK, the National Health Service works with developers at Pivotal, a subsidiary of VMware, a US software group, to develop Bluetooth-based apps. If a citizen tests positive for a disease, they will receive a code that can be loaded into the app to alert others.

NHSX, the NHS innovation department that leads the project, hopes that at least 50% of the population will register, according to those familiar with the plans that the staff had worked “ridiculous hours”. It from the ground.

However, the team that plans to appoint an ethics committee soon will still come up with some details, such as how close the app users need to be to each other and how long before they are considered exposed. You. One of the criteria that NHSX is considering is that you are within 15 minutes of someone within two meters.

Many groups in the United States using similar technologies have published projects in recent weeks. These include Stanford University, Seattle-based CoEpi, and Covid Watch, a group of technicians backed by NextTrace. All of these are still in development and testing.

However, as innovators gather in this space, there is a risk that various apps (such as those seeking support from state governments and public health groups) will become useless by dividing the tracked population into smaller chunks. Is growing.

“There are interoperability issues because there are so many groups,” said Christoph Fraser, epidemiologist and professor at the Big Data Institute at Oxford University.

However, Rhys Fenwick, co-founder of Covid Watch, said the US group has begun to work together to develop common technical standards.

“We are trying to solve [the fragmentation] By using a common protocol and connecting to the same data pool, “he said.

In the EU, 130 researchers from eight countries are using Bluetooth technology to bring together a more coordinated initiative called Pan-Europe Privacy Protection Proximity Tracking.

However, despite the undulations on the ground, there are still unresolved wrinkles, such as how to respond to individuals without a smartphone.

GPS alternative

An alternative solution could be GPS location tracking technology. This is being considered by the MIT app Safe Paths team in addition to the Bluetooth offering. There is new evidence that coronaviruses can be transmitted through surfaces even after a period of time. In other words, it is sometimes better to monitor where someone went, rather than crossing the path together.

However, because GPS location data is difficult to anonymize, the MIT team is currently negotiating partnerships with the World Health Organization and others, and is looking for highly technical solutions.

Some people argue that it is not an exact science: users appear to not be in the same place if they are on different floors of the same building or pass by a vehicle.

More broadly, privacy concerns are integral to the future of the project, focusing on exactly who sees the information, how long it is stored, and how safe it is from hackers.

“We need to be transparent about how we use apps and technology.” . And you need an exit strategy, “said Jena Valdetello, Brian Cave Leighton Paisner’s privacy lawyer, adding that there is still concern about” anonymizing “the data.

However, “Every app focuses on design that protects privacy,” said Oxford’s Fraser. “Privacy is important, life is important. It’s not a mass surveillance system, it’s measuring and sharing contacts.”

“This is a starting point, but there will be a massive group learning of what actually works.”

Additional report by Madhumita Murgia in London