Privacy Transformation - Issue 49
PRIVACY
Ministers plan to give more UK public bodies power to access phone data
Ministers want to expand the scope of UK surveillance laws to give more public authorities – including a pensions watchdog and the Environment Agency – the power to access vast databases of personal phone and computer data.
COVID-19 & CONTACT TRACING APPS
HSE says Covid-19 contact tracing app may become available next month
A Covid-19 contact tracing app is still being tested but may become available when restrictions are due to be lifted next month, the HSE has said.
Europe’s PEPP-PT COVID-19 contacts tracing standard push could be squaring up for a fight with Apple and Google
A coalition of EU scientists and technologists that’s developing what’s billed as a “privacy-preserving” standard for Bluetooth-based proximity tracking, as a proxy for COVID-19 infection risk, wants Apple and Google to make changes to an API they’re developing for the same overarching purpose.
Liechtenstein to provide citizens with biometric bracelets to contain coronavirus
Liechtenstein has introduced a program to provide biometric bracelets for citizens to monitor COVID-19 in real-time and keep track of the number of new cases.
First fuctioning European "Corona App" reviewed by NOYB
Austria: First European "corona app" with 400,000 active users reviewed by noyb, epicenter.works and SBA resarch. Privacy friendly concept, that can still be improved.
A critical look at the EU approach to contact tracing apps
The European Commission published a common toolbox for contact tracing and some guidance on such apps in relation to data protection. Here is a critical analysis.
Privacy Perspectives | COVID-19: A stress test for fundamental rights and freedom
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a perfect storm in Europe, especially in Italy, where the health of all citizens is undermined, along with the fundamental rights and constitutional freedoms we have taken for granted since the end of World War II.
SECURITY & TECH
Harden Your Zoom Settings to Protect Your Privacy and Avoid Trolls
Whether you are on Zoom because your employer or school requires it or you just downloaded it to stay in touch with friends and family, people have rushed to the video chat platform in the wake of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Take these steps to harden your Zoom privacy settings and protect your meetings from “Zoombombing” trolls.
Opt-Outs Highlight the Tension Between Privacy and Revenue at Twitter
A Reminder of Who Is In Charge Spoiler Alert: when it comes to your online privacy, it’s not you, it’s shareholders. In this post, I’m going to discuss Twitter’s recent decision to remove a privacy feature from their service, including what they did, why they did it, and what this incident can teach us about online privacy and advertising in the present day.
Privacy Matters: Messenger Kids
As Facebook’s Messenger Kids launches in new countries, Chief Privacy Officer of Policy Erin Egan outlined in a blog post privacy protections for data collection and use.
DLP tech: A panacea for keeping data safe or just another smokescreen? Related reading: How other people’s data breaches can help you
The world of privacy is underpinned by rules that require enforcement, and today the control of choice is often technology. There is a category of security technology that is supposed to specialize in controlling and monitoring data.
GUIDANCE
European Parliament resolution on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic & its consequences
The EU adopted a resolution on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. On foot of this, a group of academics have issued a joint statement highlighting their concerns "that some 'solutions' to the crisis may, via mission creep, result in systems which would allow unprecedented surveillance of society at large."
EDPB adopts further COVID-19 guidance
European Data Protection Board - Twenty-third Plenary session: EDPB adopts further COVID-19 guidance which, exceptionally, will not be submitted for public consultation due to the urgency of the current situation.
You can read the Scientific Research Guidelines here and the Contact Tracing Guidelines here.
RESOURCES
Privacy and Security Risk Evaluation of Digital Proximity Tracing Systems
The DP-3T Project has produced a 21 page guidebook to the various privacy & security attacks on the whole spectrum of digital proximity tracing systems.