Amnesty: Bahrain, Kuwait, Norway COVID-19 contact tracing apps violate privacy laws News
Felipe Esquivel Reed
Amnesty: Bahrain, Kuwait, Norway COVID-19 contact tracing apps violate privacy laws

Amnesty International reported Tuesday that the COVID-19 contact tracing apps in Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway violate privacy laws.

The contact tracing apps intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus have placed thousands of people at risk, according to research by the Amnesty security lab. The app in Kuwait and Bahrain requires a National ID, while Norway’s app requires a phone number. The issue of collecting this data in a centralized database was questioned when a Bahrain TV station used the private information to randomly call users in a competition with only an “opt out” option as protection. The Amnesty report further said that to meet privacy and data protection regulations, the app should store minimal personal information and should not be used other than for the purpose of slowing the spread of the virus.

Norway revealed that they have suspended use of the app due to a ban by the Norweigian Data Inspectorate before the Amnesty report was released. Officials stated that all data collected has been deleted awaiting the response from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

For more on COVID-19, see our special coverage.

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