Amnesty blasts Bahrain, Kuwait for 'highly invasive' COVID-19 tracing apps
Amnesty International has warned apps used to trace the movements of possible COVID-19 cases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway put the privacy of citizens at risk.
Smartphone apps used to trace the spread of the novel coronavirus in Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway are putting the privacy of thousands of people at risk, Amnesty International warned Tuesday.
Researchers at the group’s Security Lab analyzed apps in 11 countries, including those in Bahrain and Kuwait, which upload GPS-captured location data to a central database that allows live or near-live tracking of individuals.
Because the apps require users to register with their national ID number, Amnesty warns authorities in those countries could easily tie personal information to an individual. The group expressed similar concerns over Norway’s app, which uses phone numbers for registration.
“Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway have run roughshod over people’s privacy,” said Claudio Guarnieri, head of Amnesty International’s Security Lab. “They are essentially broadcasting the locations of users to a government database in real time — this is unlikely to be necessary and proportionate in the context of a public health response.”
