The app would play a role in the government’s plan to relax lockdown measures. It would notify individuals who may have been exposed to the coronavirus to take appropriate action such as self-isolate or get tested.
In a report
published this week, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said the app must not
be released unless there are strong safeguards in place. It warned the app
could fall foul of data protection law and human rights protections unless
there were clear benefits and efficacy to make collecting this data
justifiable. Primary legislation must be used to guarantee data and human
rights protections.
The committee
called for an independent body to provide oversight, for the Health Secretary
to review the app’s efficacy and safety every 21 days, and for the government
and health authorities to transparent at all times about how the app and the
data collected is being used.
The committee
also said it is highly concerned the app has not been subject to in-depth
parliamentary scrutiny and called for this to take place.
Harriet Harman
MP, chair of the committee, said: ‘Assurances from ministers about privacy are
not enough.
‘The
government has given assurances about protection of privacy so they should have
no objection to those assurances being enshrined in law. The contact tracing
app involves unprecedented data gathering. There must be robust legal
protection for individuals about what that data will be used for, who will have
access to it and how it will be safeguarded from hacking.
‘Parliament
was able quickly to agree to give the government sweeping powers. It is
perfectly possible for parliament to do the same for legislation to protect
privacy.’
