The accessibility and ease of coronavirus contact tracing apps should not retract from considering associated long-term consequences. In area, Dick Marty states that “the power takes advantage of moments of crisis to tighten the links of control and surveillance of citizens.” The four links CJA selected discuss contact tracing and the implications that this type of technology has for privacy and surveillance.

The publications are listed in a progression that gradually widens in scope from a local to an international perspective. PFZ and CJA were born and developed in Switzerland, therefore, much of our audience is based here. The first link from area is an interview with Dick Marty, a Swiss politician and previous prosecutor for the Ticino canton, about the SwissCovid app. The following publication (Secure Swiss Data) explains privacy and data protection laws in Switzerland. Article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution which guarantees the right to privacy and the Swiss Federal Data Protection Act (DPA) are essential legal protections. Switzerland has its own particular set of privacy laws given that it lies outside of EU and US jurisdiction. Amnesty International published a civil society statement that applies outside a single nation. The statement calls on governments to avoid responding to the coronavirus pandemic with more digital surveillance unless they abide by a certain set of conditions. For example, new measures are to be ‘lawful, necessary, and appropriate’ and well ‘justified by legitimate public health objectives’ that are verified by public health authorities. The pandemic does not progress along a linear plane towards a clear solution. There will be consequences and critiques of any action taken to respond the crisis. Weighing the advantages and limitations of the social and economic aspects creates difficulties since they remain at ends against one another. The final publication from Futurism is about the contact tracing application implemented in China. CJA probes circular solutions that encompass many perspectives and possible solutions.

1. Brignoni, R., (2020), ‘Technical Tests of Social Control,’ area

2. Ivana., (2018), ‘Privacy and Data Protection Laws in Switzerland,’ Secure Swiss Data

3. (2020), ‘Joint civil society statement: States use of digital surveillance technologies to fight pandemic must respect human rights,’ Amnesty International

4. Tangermann, V., (2020), ‘In China, This Coronavirus App Pretty Much Controls Your Life,’ Futurism