Apple and Google pressured to block unofficial contact tracing apps

New York Attorney General Letitia James is concerned about the number of unofficial coronavirus apps on the App Store

New York's Attorney General wants Apple and Google to limit all coronavirus contact tracing apps except those developed by public health agencies.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has written to both Apple and Google expressing what she calls continued concerns over the number of unofficial coronavirus contact tracing apps that are now on both the App Store and Google Play.

Writing to Apple senior vice president and general counsel Katherine L. Adams, James welcomes the company's "efforts to address the privacy and implementation concerns" that she has previously discussed with them. However, according to James in her letter, Apple has told her there are issues that it will not dictate to app developers. Specifically:

How the apps will verify the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnoses that the apps use to trigger exposure notifications.
Specific parameters for defining an "exposure notification" event (developers will use time and distance variables within a certain range).

James wants to "ensure that both exposure notification apps and contact tracing apps protect user information," and asks Apple to take certain "additional steps." These are concerned chiefly with who can develop apps, and then what those developers can do with the information users provide them.

She chiefly wants Apple to "allow only public health authorities verified by Apple" to be allowed to "make such apps available on the App Store." However, this is specifically about apps that transmit personal health information, so James is not seeking to ban apps that provide other information "such as notifications about exposure."

Beyond this, James says that Apple should "bar developers... from using data from the app to identify users," and from "using targeted advertising or in-app sales."

Attorney General James has sent an almost identical letter to Google's chief legal officer, Kent Walker.

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11 Comments

GeorgeBMac

said about 3 years ago

AppleInsider said:

New York's Attorney General wants Apple and Google to limit all coronavirus contact tracing apps except those developed by public health agencies.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is concerned about the number of unofficial coronavirus apps on the App Store

New York Attorney General Letitia James has written to both Apple and Google expressing what she calls continued concerns over the number of unofficial coronavirus contact tracing apps that are now on both the App Store and Google Play.

Writing to Apple senior vice president and general counsel Katherine L. Adams, James welcomes the company's "efforts to address the privacy and implementation concerns" that she has previously discussed with them. However, according to James in her letter, Apple has told her there are issues that it will not dictate to app developers. Specifically:
How the apps will verify the accuracy of COVID-19 diagnoses that the apps use to trigger exposure notifications.
Specific parameters for defining an "exposure notification" event (developers will use time and distance variables within a certain range).
James wants to "ensure that both exposure notification apps and contact tracing apps protect user information," and asks Apple to take certain "additional steps." These are concerned chiefly with who can develop apps, and then what those developers can do with the information users provide them.

She chiefly wants Apple to "allow only public health authorities verified by Apple" to be allowed to "make such apps available on the App Store." However, this is specifically about apps that transmit personal health information, so James is not seeking to ban apps that provide other information "such as notifications about exposure."

Beyond this, James says that Apple should "bar developers... from using data from the app to identify users," and from "using targeted advertising or in-app sales."

Attorney General James has sent an almost identical letter to Google's chief legal officer, Kent Walker.

I don't get it: with background bluetooth blocked, the only apps we have in this country are evolved from the Apple - Google thingee that only provide "notifications about exposure".
Is she complaining about the names of apps -- like where even the original Apple-Google app was originally called a contact tracer (until the name was corrected to reflect the fact that it was merely an exposure notification system)

But, her main point is correct: More than a single contact tracer waters down all the others and makes each less effective. That's dumb. It defeats their purpose.

We saw the importance of effective contact tracing this week in China: When they had an outbreak of 57 cases in Beijing they quickly pinpointed the source: a single wholesale grocer. So, now they can perform a focused testing program to identify all who may have been infected and block any further spread of the virus. That's what a high quality contact tracing system can do to protect society form this scurge.

beowulfschmidt

said about 3 years ago

Wait, I thought Apple had already decided to do this very thing. Did I misunderstand, or did Apple back off? Or does the NY AG mean only government sponsored entities when she speaks of "public health agencies"?

larryjw

said about 3 years ago

beowulfschmidt said:

Wait, I thought Apple had already decided to do this very thing. Did I misunderstand, or did Apple back off? Or does the NY AG mean only government sponsored entities when she speaks of "public health agencies"?

Apple and Google agreed to limit only those apps using their jointly developed API.

The request by NY is in a different class. These are just app developers implementing their own notification systems.

This begs the issue. There are attempts by many entities to weaken Apple’s control, such as it is, of apps going into their App Store — unfair competition, monopolistic practices, etc. NY’s request plays into those issues quite directly.

Apple doesn’t have governmental powers, and I have a problem with governments demanding that Apple take over that role.

And, given what we know about computer algorithms, deciding if a notification program violates privacy rules is decidedly undecidable.

beowulfschmidt

said about 3 years ago

larryjw said:

beowulfschmidt said:

Wait, I thought Apple had already decided to do this very thing. Did I misunderstand, or did Apple back off? Or does the NY AG mean only government sponsored entities when she speaks of "public health agencies"?

Apple and Google agreed to limit only those apps using their jointly developed API.
The request by NY is in a different class. These are just app developers implementing their own notification systems.

This begs the issue. There are attempts by many entities to weaken Apple’s control, such as it is, of apps going into their App Store — unfair competition, monopolistic practices, etc. NY’s request plays into those issues quite directly.

Apple doesn’t have governmental powers, and I have a problem with governments demanding that Apple take over that role.

And, given what we know about computer algorithms, deciding if a notification program violates privacy rules is decidedly undecidable.

Ahhhh, you're right. I was misreading it, and assumed a narrower focus than she probably meant.

And "decidedly undecidable" is certainly an apt description.

GeorgeBMac

said about 3 years ago

beowulfschmidt said:

Wait, I thought Apple had already decided to do this very thing. Did I misunderstand, or did Apple back off? Or does the NY AG mean only government sponsored entities when she speaks of "public health agencies"?

Apple does not have a contact tracing app. The closest it comes is a voluntary exposure notification thingee that essentially worthless to public health agencies trying to protect the public.