Google exec outlines privacy measures in new contact-tracing API

Colin McKay, head of public policy and government relations for Canada for Alphabet Inc.’s Google, told the House industry committee that Google and Apple Inc. have designed their new application programming interface (API) for tracing exposure to COVID-19 to avoid compromising user privacy. “We’re providing a tool that enables public health authorities to build their own apps in a way that is both privacy-preserving and works reliably across both operating systems,” McKay said Thursday evening. The software, which was released earlier this week, allows governments and health agencies to build apps that use data collected by the two companies for contact tracing of COVID-19 exposure. The software uses Bluetooth technology, and users must opt in to use it. McKay said users first have to choose to download an app, and then give permission for location information to be collected. “Importantly, the information collected about their location is actually anonymized and randomized so it’s not associated with the individual or the device but rather is a reference point for public health authorities if there happens to be a person that has been notified that they are COVID-19 positive,” he said. “Throughout the process, we’re taking specific steps to provide information about the proximity contact of individuals without actually sharing the personal information of those individuals or creating a long-term record about their travels or their location.” He added the programs will be shut down once public health authorities have the pandemic under control. There are no legal restrictions on using de-identified data for contact tracing, but privacy legislation does apply to personally-identifiable data, such as individual location information. McKay said the software is designed in such a way that app developers can’t request personal information, associate personal information with the Bluetooth information, or request specific location information. In response to a question about whether Google has been in touch with the federal government to work together on a contact-tracing app, McKay said “we’re in constant conversation both with the federal government and the provincial governments about the possible use” of the API. On the same day the software was released, Telus Corp. announced it will begin providing de-identified, aggregate location data to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to help combat COVID-19. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, provincial and federal governments have indicated their interest in using location data to track the spread of the virus, but so far only Alberta has launched an app. On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that the federal government is waiting on Google and Apple to make improvements to the API. He said, according to a transcript, that one of the issues countries that have already launched apps have experienced is the app "has to sit in the foreground of your phone and drains the battery. That's why the fix that Apple and Google are talking about bringing in in the beginning of June will be extremely important as a base for an effective contact tracing or, or exposure notification app." Trudeau said the government is "working with a number of different partners on potential apps. We're working closely with Apple and Google on the update that they will be bringing forward and it is our expectation that when the time comes for that to be released, we will be able to recommend strongly to Canadians a particular app that will help us manage the spread of COVID-19."

Google exec outlines privacy measures in new contact-tracing API

News | May 22, 2020

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Google exec outlines privacy measures in new contact-tracing API

News | May 22, 2020

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