The Government of the Republic of Singapore proposes that wearable devices be adopted for use by the general population in near-future efforts to reliably achieve contact tracing of persons that have recently come into contact with a Covid-19 infected person.
Minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation initiative, Vivian Balakrishnan, announced the proposal on June 5. He cited poor inter-operability of the existing Trace Together smartphone app across various brands of smartphones as well as the Government's subsequent non-compulsory usage stance as reasons for developing a wearable device.
Such a device, if proven to be successful in trials - and subsequently made available to everyone - would allow contact tracers to locate a person's whereabouts based on their proximity to other persons' phones, cell towers, or potentially their wearable devices themselves.
This will be done regardless of whether the person has a phone or not; regardless whether their phone is switched off or on; whether that person is within reception of a cell tower or not; and regardless whether their phone has wifi or Bluetooth switched off or on.
The only thing that stops this device from potentially being allowed to track citizens' movements 24/7 are: if the wearable device runs out of power; if a counter-measure device that broadcasts a jamming signal masking the device's whereabouts; or if the person chooses to live 'off the grid' in total isolation, away from others and outside of any smartphone/device effective range.
All that is stopping the Singapore Government from becoming a surveillance state is the advent and mandating the compulsory usage of such a wearable device. What comes next would be laws that state these devices must not be turned off/remain on a person at all times - thus sealing our fate as a police state.
Thus, we reject the development of this contact tracing device. We view its advent and subsequent implementation with great suspicion and indignation. The claims that such a device be implemented 'for the greater good' and for 'the safety and protection of all Singaporeans' are false and baseless. According to media reports, the non-successful adoption of the Trace Together app can be superseded by the next step that state-sanctioned technological advancements can offer: and this is it.
The Government looks to the Covid-19 pandemic as the perfect excuse to realise what it has always envisioned for us - this country's populace: to surveil us with impunity, to track us without any technological inhibitions, and maintain a form of movement monitoring on each of us at all times and places. And to do so by decreeing it compulsory for all law-abiding persons to become 'recipients'.
We - as free, independent, and lawful members of the public of Singapore - condemn the device's implementation as blatant infringements upon our rights to privacy, personal space, and freedom of movement. We reject the notion that the non-efficacy of the Trace Together initiative be superseded by a regime that could potentially require all members of the public (regardless of their age, susceptibility to disease, or health status) to give up these rights under fear - not of infection from Covid-19 - but of prosecution by the state.
LOL check out the latest tweet by the TraceTogether spoof account:
German researchers say TraceTogether app does not provide adequate user privacy protection!!!!!
Making TraceTogether mandatory seems to contradict Vivian Balakrishnan’s pre-election assurances
A few months ago Dr Balakrishnan said “I'm going to do my best to try to push the participation rates up without having to go down the mandatory route"
The Government’s decision to make TraceTogether usage mandatory at all public venues mandatory from December has given rise to questions about whether this latest move contradicts minister Vivian Balakrishnan’s pre-election assurances that the authorities had no plans to do so.
On 5 June, Dr Balakrishnan announced in Parliament that the Government was exploring the use of wearable devices for contact tracing amid the COVID-19 pandemic and is considering rolling out the device – called the TraceTogether token – out to all Singapore residents soon.
The announcement led to widespread concerns about the invasion of privacy, the right to personal space and the freedom of movement. One online petition condemning the implementation of such plans that was created on the day Dr Balakrishnan spoke in Parliament drew a hefty 35,000 signatures in just a few days.
The backlash against the Government’s plans was so severe that Dr Balakrishnan announced just days later that the government is not planning to make it mandatory for residents in Singapore to use the TraceTogether token.
At a press conference held on 8 June, the minister-in-charge of the Smart Nation Programme Office initiative said that the use of the tokens should be based on a “spirit of trust, openness, and compassion” as well as “mutual responsibility”.
He promised: “When you’re controlling a pandemic like this, there are many aspects of it you cannot legislate. You can have rules, you can pass laws, you can enforce it. The majority will comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law. And unfortunately, a minority sometimes will try to find loopholes.”
“I’m going to do my best to try to push the participation rates up without having to go down the mandatory route.”
Just a few weeks later, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called an election amid the pandemic. The PAP was returned to power, with a supermajority of 83 seats in Parliament.
It has been about three and a half months since the election and the Government has now announced that the TraceTogether system will be made mandatory at all public venues before the end of the year. Singapore residents will no longer be able to use the SafeEntry QR code system to check in to venues like workplaces, schools, restaurants, shopping malls and cinemas and will need to use the TraceTogether app or carry the wearable device, from December.
Some observers responding to news reports are asking whether the latest decision contradicts Dr Balakrishnan’s pre-election remarks.
During his press conference in June, the Minister did caution that it was still possible that circumstances may worsen to the point that the Ministry of Health may say that there is no choice but to roll the device out to all Singapore residents.
But observers have noted that the number of cases has come down drastically to the point that Singapore is considering moving on to Phase 3 of its phased re-opening plans. The situation has not deteriorated to the point where there is no choice but to make TraceTogether mandatory so why implement such plans now when the SafeEntry system is working well?
One commentator, writing for Online Citizen Asia, highlighted: “Perhaps Dr Balakrishnan will argue that the TraceTogether app is a mobile application and not a device per se. This is, however, a shallow argument — at the end of the day, it will work like a device tracking exactly where you are.”
The writer, Ghui, added: “By saying one thing and doing another thing, the Government is eroding its own credibility. By sending out one message before the general election, only to backtrack a few months after it returns to power, the Government is breaching the people’s trust in it.”
Facebook page, The Alternative View, made similar observations and pointed out that Dr Balakrishnan “struck a reconciliatory tone” in response to the backlash over the TraceTogether token before the election.
The page, which has close to 37,000 followers, shared a video of the minister’s pre-election press conference and added: “Now it seems that what Vivian Balakrishnan had said in June were just empty words designed to make him sound consultative.”
Close to 250 netizens, including Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) chairman and infectious diseases expert Dr Paul Tambyah, liked The Alternative View’s post.
https://theindependent.sg/making-tracetogether-mandatory-seems-to-contradict-vivian-balakrishnans-pre-election-assurances/
How the New Zealand government safeguards user privacy in its contact tracing app
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-resources-and-tools/nz-covid-tracer-app/privacy-and-security-nz-covid-tracer#deleting
How your personal information is managed
The Ministry of Health has consulted with the Privacy Commissioner to ensure NZ COVID Tracer protects your privacy.
The personal information and contact details you choose to register through NZ COVID Tracer (on the ‘register your details’ and ‘let us know where you are staying’ screens) are provided to the Ministry of Health so contact tracers can quickly get in touch if you are identified as a close contact of someone who has COVID-19.
Any further information you decide to record through NZ COVID Tracer – for example, the QR codes you scan, your manual diary entries or your NHI number - is stored securely on your phone. Digital diary entries are automatically deleted after 60 days.
The contact alert process for NZ COVID Tracer does not involve transmitting any information from your phone. If you are identified as a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19, it is your choice whether to share your digital diary with the Ministry. You are in control of your data.
Any information (excluding anonymous statistical information) you provide to the Ministry will not be shared with other government agencies except where the agency is directly involved in the public health response and sharing the information is necessary for public health purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will never be used for enforcement purposes.
If any information you provide to the Ministry is added to your health record, for example if you test positive for COVID-19, it will be kept for the same duration as the rest of your health record.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been consulted and is satisfied that the privacy implications (and their mitigations) for the current release of NZ COVID Tracer have been appropriately recorded in the Privacy Impact Assessment available below.
Nearly 55K have signed the petition!
Don't worry, an EDMWer has figured out a way to bypass this Trace Together nonsense!
https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/lifehack-avoid-participating-mandatory-tracetogether-program-6396202.html