[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Major IT companies Apple and Google have found themselves in a contradictory situation regarding privacy issues related to contact tracing applications (apps) aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While the United States insists on protecting personal information, Europe is demanding a lowering of protection standards.
On the 21st (local time), C?dric O, France's Minister of Digital Affairs, stated in an interview with Bloomberg News that Apple's operating system could slow down the distribution of the contact tracing app being developed by the government, and requested the removal of technical obstacles. The French government plans to manage the COVID-19 situation based on a contact tracing app called 'StopCovid' when it lifts the movement restrictions on the 11th of next month. This app operates by sending notification messages when users come into contact with COVID-19 infected individuals and is designed for citizens to voluntarily download.
The problem is that Apple's operating system, from a privacy protection standpoint, prevents the contact tracing app from functioning when the device owner uses other apps such as games or completely locks the screen. On the 10th, the French government decided not to use the smartphone app system jointly developed by the two companies for tracking infected individuals' movements but instead developed its own app, collecting data on a central government server to reflect in health policies. The French government plans to submit related measures for parliamentary voting and is coordinating schedules with both houses of parliament.
Minister O said, "These restrictions interfere with the app France is trying to create," and added that he requested Apple to remove the technical hurdles and discussed concerns together, but there was no significant progress. The Guardian reported that "France is the first country to officially request Apple and Google to relax privacy protections."
On the other hand, in the United States, there have been demands to strengthen privacy protections for the contact tracing system jointly developed by Apple and Google. As a promise of privacy protection, there are calls for each CEO to personally invest equity. According to CNBC and others, Republican Representative Josh Hawley (Missouri) sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the same day, stating, "If you want to reassure the public, CEOs should personally invest in the project," and warned that they should be held accountable if privacy protections are stopped. Although Apple and Google said data in this system would be used anonymously, Representative Hawley expressed concerns that re-identification could be possible if multiple pieces of information are checked together, potentially being used as a surveillance mechanism.
Earlier, nearly 300 security experts from 26 countries around the world expressed support for Apple and Google, stating that systems developed by IT companies seem less risky than government-centralized contact tracing apps. On the 20th, they issued a joint statement pointing out that "responses developed in crisis situations could lead to social surveillance through repurposing," and that government contact tracing apps could become a factor that causes loss of trust in authorities.
The Guardian reported, "If the two companies (Apple and Google) accept requests from a specific government, they will eventually have to apply this to all governments," and said, "This is why they maintain a high level of privacy protection."
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