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Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

safepaths.mit.edu

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Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#61
I think this is the right way - store data but publish it publically when you are confirmed with coronavirus. Then apps installed on others phones would automatically see your data and would do an intersect to see if they were in proximity, and notify you accordingly. This way only the data of those impacted by coronavirus becomes public. And although it’s public technically, as the app has access to it behind the scenes, but legally you won’t be allowed to reverse engineer the response data and publish it online on a map,etc. so that adds some privacy from the general public’s eyes.

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#62

Summary: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UGY07m8GNrUaj9bGRx07vDMccxT... Paper: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2003.08567.pdf It seems like the way this preserves privacy is that you only upload your location information once you're tested positive, where it is "redacted" (I have very little faith in this) and then sent to everyone else so they can check to see if they were in contact with you. It's better than mass surveilla…

Mandatory or optional? Will the government force me to upload if I am positive? Or can I choose not to?

Precedent for making it mandatory - state by state with varying degrees of confidentiality : https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/hiv-and-health-...

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#63

Singapore's doing contact tracing without any location data, and with contact between devices encrypted until needed for a contact disclosure. Seems like a better approach to me: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/asia-pacific/singapore-g...

Also direct link to more info about the underlying protocol "BlueTrace" they are working on finalizing before open-sourcing this app for use in other countries:

https://tracetogether.zendesk.com/hc/en-sg/articles/36004488...

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#64
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> any other restriction on the freedom of movement and freedom of assembly People abusing these freedoms in spite of lockdowns are what's going to kill hundreds of thousands of people in the coming days.

If the cost of liberty is hundred thousands of life, let it be. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

Unfortunately, that qoute was taken out of context: https://www.lawfareblog.com/what-ben-franklin-really-said

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#65

Singapore's doing contact tracing without any location data, and with contact between devices encrypted until needed for a contact disclosure. Seems like a better approach to me: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/asia-pacific/singapore-g...

Technical analysis of the app [1]

It uses Bluetooth to find people nearby, and records their randomised id

Each randomised id is associated with a phone no

Link between id and phone is with ministry of health, so stealing the logs is not useful

Finally, you only asked to share data if you came in contact with a known case.

I guess you can choose not to share / say app got removed, but it is self-defeating; you really want to know details and who else is in danger

This is war-like effort, so keeping Bluetooth on is small price to pay

[1] https://medium.com/@frankvolkel/tracetogether-under-the-hood...

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#66
post #41
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's worse than delusional paranoia. Because it's not necessarily delusional, or paranoid. Give them the benefit of the doubt: Assume they are competent, healthy adults, who really believe in what they say. With that assumed, it's someone choosing to sacrifice other people's lives for their political values. Personally I think that situation crosses the "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose" line. We should…

> With that assumed, it's someone choosing to sacrifice other people's lives for their political values. No, not just other peoples - that includes my own life too. The freedoms enshrined upon us by the constitution are not negotiable. "shall make no law" admits no exception. > we have to choose priorities I chose mine.

I sometimes don't get why some Americans worship the Constitution like that. It was written by humans Albeit educated, thoughtful people who greatly cared about it, but still more or less humans.

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#67
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> any other restriction on the freedom of movement and freedom of assembly People abusing these freedoms in spite of lockdowns are what's going to kill hundreds of thousands of people in the coming days.

If the cost of liberty is hundred thousands of life, let it be. "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety"

I'd argue those who give up the safety of others, to purchase a little temporary liberty for themselves, deserve neither liberty nor safety.

Re: Private Kit: Can we slow the spread without giving up individual privacy?

#68
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah GPS casts too wide a net (imagine being in New York- everyone in a 80-story office building would be within margin of error of a single GPS point). Bluetooth seems like a better solution, and the Singapore one does it in a privacy-preserving way while storing all data on the phone. Only when a user is infected, then are they asked to upload data. https://tracetogether.gov.sg

How does this work if one has a bluetooth receiver off?

It doesn’t. It also doesn’t cover people without phones, like most children. Or people with feature phones that don’t have Bluetooth.

Yet it’s still better than nothing.

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