If you are old enough- and were an aficionado of Mad magazine, then you should recognize the title- and the situations the cartoon lampooned.
I was watching Rachel Maddow (when it repeats in the wee hours of the morning). And, I was dumbfounded.
Rachel, who proclaims she is a lefty, was extolling Kinsa Health. Never heard of them? Well, this firm has given away (and sold) 1KK+ smart thermometers. And, it has used those reporting thermometers to record fevers in ‘real’ time. With that data, the firm claims it has an “early warning system” for illnesses and epidemics. Yes, it is positive it can track the path of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Now, this data is claimed to be anonymized. About which I have no doubts- except it’s not clear to me how anonymous it is.
We’ve already been told that we can turn off location services on our phones. Except- our providers and the apps we’ve download manage to obtain our location despite that fact. (I’ve already reported how one quick study demonstrated how exact this tracking really is.)
Or that those data fitness apps were publicizing where we are to the world. Which is why the Armed Forces banned the use of all such apps by our troops. So, their location could not be used by our enemies.
And, about a week ago, a bunch of Israeli citizens got jolted. It seems that Shin Bet (the Israeli agency akin to our FBI- and then some) has been tracking folks who were in contact with someone who is infected with coronavirus.
Now, it’s not just Israel. Of course, you won’t be surprised if I tell you China does this all the time. But so does Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan- and now Italy.
Oh, yeah. TheDonald plans to do this, too. To monitor our compliance with social distancing. And, you know that the only privacy TheDonald considers relevant is to his own self. The rest of us are fair game. Not only that- his association with the truth about this disease in particular is non-existent (like the remedies for the coronavirus, that it’s a hoax, that it will disappear in a minute, that there’s no need for us to batten down the hatches, that there’s no ventilator crisis, that we can reuse masks and protective gear which brings the virus in contact with others, etc.), you can bet he’ll claim the data is anonymized and not tracking us granularly. NOT.
This is vastly different from the MIT project that is just underway. It’s asking folks to voluntarily enter data into an app (Private Kit) to enable the researchers to track Covid-19 patients. So, we can see with whom they may have interacted before they were symptomatic- and help protect as many folks as possible. MIT avers that the data will be scrambled to preclude individual identification.
MIT’s folks are also working with WHO (World Health Organization and HHS (Department of Health & Human Services), among other organizations. Because contact tracing is one of the absolute best ways to flatten the curve. Because potential patients are identified and treated promptly. But, the only way the MIT project can succeed is if lots and lots of us download the app and use it.
How will the app help?
Well, right now, if someone is diagnosed with Covid-19, we need to ask with whom they have been in contact over the past 5 to 10 days. Then, those folks need to be contacted by phone- which means we need to also obtain their phone numbers- one at a time. A laborious, time-consuming process.
It’s also why we shut down schools, businesses, and regions. Because we don’t know who or where those folks have been. Hence the 3 million unemployed that was reported last week. And, it will get worse- much worse, without better tracking and identification. (See my post, If I were President.)
With data that could be obtained by Private Kit, we could just close down a few locations- minimizing the economic impact to our cities, our states, our country. By uploading data from Google location services for one’s recent travels and continually logging location data, we’d provide such important information. Not to mention that we’d be notified if we are near someone who has been infected.
The one problem is who will store the data. Are we willing to let our governments do so? To assume they will keep our data anonymous. (You do recall that the NSA has been monitoring our phone calls- illegally- for a while now, right?)
The time to question what we do or do not do is right now.
We are all just doomed! I am just waiting this whole thing out. I am looking forward to a relaxing September.
Paul Taubman recently posted..April 2020 Ultimate Blog Challenge: It is Time!
I’m hoping this is over by June 1. Not the entire situation, but a controllable number or region.
So the tracking could be helpful, but also could be cause for concern, because we can’t foresee what all the results could be from this newest loss of privacy. I see what you mean. I haven’t been watching lately, but I have faith that Rachel is still as much a lefty as she was the last tie I watched her show. And let’s hope I am right because we need her voice as a truth-teller.
It’s important to know who collects it, with whom they share it, what’s the destruction policy, etc.
This is interesting…and terrifying…stuff. Earlier this school year, my son’s school was offered free thermometers from Kinsa. I might be wrong, but playing around with it, it doesn’t seem to work unless its linked to the app, which struck me as suspicious, so I stuck it back in the box and haven’t turned it on since.
Theresa recently posted..‘Ghost’ Haunts Grafton’s Consolidated Manufacturing Company
See. You are already keeping your family safe, Theresa!
An interesting read and it’s also interesting to hear the Armed Forces have banned such app’s
Barry Joyce recently posted..TOP 10 SUCCESS SKILLS TO TEACH YOUR CHILD
Yes, the DOD realized that it was making our troops sitting ducks.
I think an app like that is being developed by many and one is already in Google play.The problem is two fold ignoring privacy stuff.Will people fo this voluntarily?What if this causes social stigma?
We need a carrot for responsible citizen behavior .Great post.
Thanks, Dr. A. I worry when folks produce these apps and share data to amplify their wealth or influence.
Interesting information. Thank you.
Glad to oblige. Thanks for the visit.
I’ve read a couple of places that Facebook is determining if we’re doing our social distancing or staying at home. I have no idea if that is true but they have the ability to do it.
Thanks for sharing.
I think the facts are that governments are leaning on Google and Facebook to share such data.
I am a frequent watcher of Rachel, and she has devoted a number of segments to the Kinsa smart thermometers. It appears to me that she thinks the data and subsequent insight it provides is worth the risk of loss of privacy. That data provided by those thermometers predicted, a week or more ago, that Florida was on the verge of becoming a COVID hot spot, and since then, it has been proved right. As desperate as these times are, I think we are going to end up hurling everything we can at the problem and see what sticks, so to speak. It’s become a matter of survival. As much as I am worried about lack of privacy, there are worse alternatives.
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As you can tell, I don’t. I want safeguards. I am tired of folks tracking us down without any permission.
I have one of those thermometers! I’m hoping I’ll never have to use that app.
I believe even if you DON’T use the app, they collect the data.
The tracking is frightening, not only because of the plethora of information this provides the government, but also because of the jackpot that it provides any potential hackers. And there will be hacker, unfortunately. The intentions are good but the results could be horrifying.
Alice Gerard recently posted..Life in these strange times: birds, rainbows, and songs
You are absolutely correct, Alice. This is our personal integrity at stake.