COVID-Safe App Continues to Raise Issues

“The federal government’s announcements in relation to the Covidsafe App contain a number of good features, including the determination under the Biosecurity Act making it an offence to refuse to employ a person or provide services to a person on the basis that they will not download the app. These help to ensure use of the app is truly voluntary. However, fundamental issues of concern remain,” said President Michael Cope.

“Firstly,” said Mr Cope, “the app will download and store in the database the user’s phone number. This is an incredibly important piece of personal information from which much other information can be learned but it is not necessary for the app to be useful.”

“Secondly, the government has chosen to make use of an app which transfers the data of the user to a centralised database. That creates the risk of the database being hacked. More importantly, databases can easily repurposed, as happened recently when the Queensland government repealed privacy protective legislation and handed over the driver’s license photo database to the Commonwealth.”

The government does not need an app linked to a centralised database. A tracing app which does not require a centralised database has been developed in Europe called DP-3T. It will be launched in Switzerland on May 11. Estonia, also plans an app based on the DP-3T standard. Austria's Red Cross, whose Stopp Corona contact tracing app is already decentralised has said it was leaning towards adopting DP-3T.

The determination made under the Biosecurity Act is not adequate protection. The government should have passed legislation prior to rolling out the app“.

The legislation needs to provide for an authority to monitor the use of the app and the data and for complaints to be made to that authority in relation to the use of the app and the data.

“Any legislation passed also needs to contain a specific sunset date when the data will be destroyed. It is not sufficient that the legislation says the data will be deleted when the pandemic is over. Other Federal and State legislation dealing with the pandemic has quite specific sunset clauses. The same should apply to this app.“

“Since the beginning of this crisis, we have been concerned about the prospect that the long term presence of these emergency measures will enure the population to their existence. For this reason, there needs to be specific sunset clauses. If by the time the sunsetted provisions are to expire the government says they need to be extended, then they should have to justify their extension at that time,” said Mr Cope.

For further information contact Michael Cope President QCCL on 07 3223 5939 during office hours and at all times on 0432 847 154