Tag: code

A common EU toolbox for contact tracing

Jonathan DonnerIdentity and Privacy
Coronavirus: An EU approach for efficient contact tracing
Coronavirus: An EU approach for efficient contact tracing apps to support gradual lifting of confinement measures

“Welcoming the toolbox, Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said: “Contact tracing apps to limit the spread of coronavirus can be useful, especially as part of Member States’ exit strategies. However, strong privacy safeguards are a pre-requisite for the uptake of these apps, and therefore their usefulness. While we should be innovative and make the best use of technology in fighting the pandemic, we will not compromise on our values and privacy requirements.”“

European Union Press Release 16 April 2020

Change Model: Standards and common code

Limiting the Apple/Google Contact Tracer to the Crisis Period Only

Jonathan DonnerIdentity and Privacy
Apple and Google pledge to shut down coronavirus tracker when pandemic ends
representatives from each company pledged for the first time to disable the service after the outbreak had been sufficiently contained. Such a decision would have to be made on a region-by-region basis, and it’s unclear how public health authorities would reach such a determination. However, the engineers stated definitively that the APIs were not intended to be maintained indefinitely.

“As part of the change, the daily key is now referred to as the “temporary tracing key,” and the long-term tracing key included in the original specification is no longer present.”

The Verge

Change Model: Code designed for obsolescence?

DP-PPT: a protocol for Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing

Jonathan DonnerIdentity and Privacy
EU privacy experts push a decentralized approach to COVID-19 contacts tracing – TechCrunch
A group of European privacy experts has proposed a decentralized system for Bluetooth-based COVID-19 contacts tracing which they argue offers greater protection against abuse and misuse of people’s data than apps which pull data into centralized pots. The protocol — which they’re calling Decentraliz…

“A group of European privacy experts has proposed a decentralized system for Bluetooth-based COVID-19 contacts tracing which they argue offers greater protection against abuse and misuse of people’s data than apps which pull data into centralized pots.”

Techcrunch

Change Model: The promotion of protocols and shared resources to protect privacy.

WhatsApp limits forwards to reduce viral disinformation

Jonathan DonnerPublic Sphere
WhatsApp introduces new limit on message forwards to fight spread of misinformation – TechCrunch
WhatsApp is imposing additional restriction on how frequently a message can be shared on its platform in its latest effort to curtail the spread of misinformation. The Facebook -owned instant messaging service said today that any message that has been forwarded five or more times will now face a new…

While Facebook and YouTube might be changing content moderation approaches, this move by WhatsApp is a structural approach, reducing the number of times a message can be forwarded. Will it stay in place after the pandemic recedes?

It is a powerful change model, as WhatsApp knows it can literally encode (shape) the terms on which speech and ideas can spread between people.

Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing

Jonathan DonnerIdentity and Privacy

“A health crisis must not lead to a weakening of privacy that so many generations before us have fought for.”

“The development of this technology is based on three basic principles. Firstly, it is the result of close European cooperation. Only in this way can we bundle the expertise on the continent in an efficient and targeted manner. Secondly, the technology should be internationally applicable, i.e. interoperable across national borders. In doing so, the technology will facilitate the resumption of international business and personal travel. And thirdly, the technology should be in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). “

HOME | Pepp-Pt
Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing
(PEPP-PT) makes it possible to interrupt new chains of SARS-CoV-2 transmission rapidly and effectively by informing potentially exposed people. We are a large and inclusive European team. We provide standards, technology, and services to countries an…

The change model is based on promoting privacy-protecting standards during the crisis through code and backend service support.