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In America, Only Three States Use Google-Apple Contact Tracing App (nbcnews.com) 42

Posted by EditorDavid from the I'm-feeling-lucky dept.
NBC News reports that in various parts of America, "States that had committed to using contact tracing apps or expressed interest are now backing away from those claims." The few states that have rolled them out have seen only tepid responses. And there are no indications of any momentum for the apps at a national level... A survey of state health officials from Business Insider this week showed that only three states — Alabama, North Dakota and South Carolina — said they were going to use the software provided by Apple and Google. The number hasn't grown since the same three states reported interest last month, and none has launched an app with the Google-Apple software...

Even the World Health Organization has piled on. "Digital tools do not replace the human capacity needed to do contact tracing," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a briefing this week, adding that more evidence was needed and that the WHO would convene experts to share information...

A handful of states — North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah — launched apps without the support of Apple and Google, but none saw widespread adoption. More states, including Washington, have considered doing so or have launched test versions, and it's possible that apps will gain momentum closer to the fall, when they might be taken up by more employers, schools and universities and at related football games.
Two months ago Google and Apple announced a joint project to build a contact-tracing app -- which was supported by the governor of America's most populous state, California. But now a spokesperson for California's public health department tells NBC News that the state isn't currently using any apps or cellphone tracking technology.

"Most of the contact tracing work (notifying people who have been in close contact with an infected person to prevent the disease from spreading to others) can be done by phone, text, email and chat."
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In America, Only Three States Use Google-Apple Contact Tracing App More

In America, Only Three States Use Google-Apple Contact Tracing App

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  • It doesn't work (Score:3, Informative)

    by flyingfsck ( 986395 ) on Saturday June 13, 2020 @11:39AM (#60179336)
    People are finally clueing in that it doesn't work.

    • Re:It doesn't work (Score:4, Insightful)

      by thegarbz ( 1787294 ) on Saturday June 13, 2020 @11:56AM (#60179388)

      People are finally clueing in that it doesn't work.

      And your opinion is based on all those states that gave it a go and showed it didn't work?

      • Re:It doesn't work (Score:4, Interesting)

        by Some Guy I Dont Know ( 6200212 ) on Saturday June 13, 2020 @01:16PM (#60179578)

        Well, Iceland - a small country with a small population and the world's highest usage of contract tracing apps - says they have been almost useless [technologyreview.com], especially when compared to interviews.

        This really isn't surprising - these apps are voluntary, which means a lot of non-participants. Since the data modelers estimate that 80% of the populace [forbes.com] would need to be running these apps to be effective, Iceland's 38% shows that it is very unlikely for any of this data to ever be useful. Singapore mandated use of the app, and still has only managed 30% or so (reports vary).
        There's also the problem that in the US, only 80% of people even own a smartphone - and many of those are too old to run the apps. When you look at the high-risk groups like the poor or the elderly, the rate drops significantly: Smartphone ownership among the poor is less than 70%, and the elderly barely break 50%.

        Finally, these apps fail to take into account any factors [brookings.edu] other than "crow flies" distance. Factors like masks - or even airproof walls - are not taken into consideration. This leads to all sorts of false positives, that need to be manually weeded out by humans, wasting time and money... not to mention the massive privacy concerns.

        All in all, these "contact tracing apps" have not shown any significant benefit, and are known to have significant problems.

        • to get folks to use the app. Like what we did when we combated measles. Most governments don't seem functional enough to do that though.

          I mean, I haven't had Cable TV in over a decade but I still know what Dancing with the Stars is. That's market penetration. Only reason I know these apps exist is because I read /..
          • is it just me or have we as a species gotten really, really good at giving up? I mean, it seems like every time something doesn't work first thing we just say "Welp, that'll never happen" and shrug our shoulders. We've given up on iteration and the belief in progress.

            What happened?
          • They don't need government. If you're on Android, you probably already have it.

            Without your consent.

            Go to Settings > Google Settings and see if it says "COVID-19 Exposure Notifications" at the top.

            To turn it off, hit the 3-dot menu button, then "Usage & diagnostics" and turn it off.

            Apparently the app you download is only used to give you information about it. They collect the data regardless.

            If that's wrong, someone by all means correct me. But don't just tell me what Google says. They

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by pahles ( 701275 )

              BS. First, also Apple devices have this. Second, you need an app on top of this (like you stated). But if you don't get the app, what data are they collecting? Your location data? They already have that, there is no need for extra software. And since it was developed together with Apple (which has shown to be a lot more concerned with privacy) I feel like I can trust this.

              The app is needed for sharing your random anonymous ID with other phones that use the software, not with Google/Apple.

              • 1) Not BS. It's on my own phone. Without my consent.

                2) No, you do not need an app on top of this. I addressed that already. The app is to give YOU information. Not to collect it.

                3) No, they don't already have my location data. At least, I haven't given them my consent to have it, it's not in their TOS that they can collect it without my consent, and I have all location settings turned off.

                4) You can feel like you can trust anything you like. If you want to ignore Google's history in regard to thing

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by pahles ( 701275 )
                  1) So? There's a lot more on my phone I didn't put on there.
                  2) You DO need a app. You can address anything you want, but do you even know how it works?
                  3) How about cell tower information. Might not go to Google, but...
                  4) So you feel different, big deal. I don't ignore Google's history, but sometimes things are more important (for the greater good).
                  I suggest you inform yourself better on how this works, and stop shouting in the mean time.
                  • 1) Straw=man argument.

                    2) Repeat for the third time: YOU need an app. THEY don't. I get that this was awkwardly worded, but read the whole thing.

                    3) That's right, it doesn't go to Google. But Google was the whole point of what I wrote. So: another straw man. Further, courts have increasingly been ruling that even police need a warrant for that.

                    4) Apparently you are ignoring Google's history, because you wrote "I feel like I can trust this."

                    I know quite well how it works, as I have already establis

        • Well, Iceland - a small country with a small population and the world's highest usage of contract tracing apps - says they have been almost useless [technologyreview.com], especially when compared to interviews.

          I guess either there is only one app in the world, all apps are the same, or you know some hidden secret information that the Google/Apple app was secretly distributed by the Iceland government under another name.

          We can by extension say Linux servers suck because Windows servers suck and therefore the entire concept of a server is useless by your logic right?

      • I look for the good man. I would be your Mistress!! Punish me! =>> bit.do/fFXBs
    • Nothing works, if it isn't used. Nothing is used if it isn't promoted. The biggest deterrent to opening up businesses is a lack of public leadership. Starting at the top, the strategy has been to do nothing... nothing but say there isn't a problem and hand out free money... especially free money for family and friends. The U.S. is no better off now than it was 3 months ago, because effectively nothing has been done with that time and the trillions of dollars spent. Testing and tracing should have been adver
    • wrong. This is exactly what is needed.
      Covid spreads a minimum of 1 to 3. IOW, for 1 person infected, 3 more will get this. However, if we have contract tracing the second that somebody shows positive (via symptoms/testing), the ability to notify everybody that has had contact via direct/indirect allows the chain to be either broken OR slowed way down.
      Shy of keeping ppl at home, contact tracing is the best form of stopping/slowing this.
      • Schneier should be advocating for more testing and tracing, instead of dumping on a technology that actually would be helpful if the U.S. had ramped up testing and tracing over the past 3-4 months. Then the apps would be of significance. Instead of doing that, the U.S. government has done almost nothing but dish out trillions of dollars, including hundreds of millions of dollars to the president's cronies. As the Brookings Institute points out, some countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Israel have e
        • Schneier IS advocating for more testing and tracing.
          Re-read Schneier's comments. He identifies techniques that *are* effective (testing & tracing), but notes that the apps aren't one of those techniques, and spells out exactly *why* proximity apps aren't effective. His reasoning is sound.

  • Thank God (Score:1, Interesting)

    by LastChances ( 6936628 )
    Fuck corporate tracking. The fact that Slashdotters pushed the idea once they felt they were threatened by a scary virus was very eye opening. It just shows that most Slashdotters will give up any sort of beliefs in exchange for some "protection". And yeah, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THESE APPS ARE DOING. They are not open source, and you have no way of inspecting the system behind it. So fuck off with your "Oh, Apple and Google are just tracking MAC addresses and not transmitting until...". That is BS. You hav

    • And yeah, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THESE APPS ARE DOING. They are not open source,... Apple and Google are just tracking MAC addresses and not transmitting until...".

      It's amazing how much wrongness you can fit into such a small space. If you are going to make things up, why even post?

      You'd be do better going to Wikipedia to learn things.

      • I know quite a few people whose only response to Washington's talk about a contact tracing app is "I'm not gonna let the government track me". They don't want to think about the need for it, or how the apps work - it's just "dad-blamed guv'mint ain't gonna keep track of me".

        I'm sure when the state ends up hiring a small army of humans to do the same thing - which is how historically this has been managed for diseases - they'll be complaining about the cost to the taxpayer.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Agripa ( 139780 )

          I know quite a few people whose only response to Washington's talk about a contact tracing app is "I'm not gonna let the government track me". They don't want to think about the need for it, or how the apps work - it's just "dad-blamed guv'mint ain't gonna keep track of me".

          Given how forthcoming our government is about spying on us, I don't blame them.

  • Apple and Google should each release an App (Score:3, Interesting)

    by WimBo ( 124634 ) on Saturday June 13, 2020 @11:48AM (#60179364) Homepage

    Instead of just building an API, each company should release an App for their respective platform.

    I'd trust one of their apps over a random state developed App.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Arethan ( 223197 )

      Yep. For as much invasion of privacy that Apple and Google already commit, I'd still trust them to build a halfway decent national or even global scale app far more than any of the "developers" from the state or federal government.

    • BINGO.
      I totally agree. In fact, I have been looking for a google app (who already has shit loads of info on us) tracing app. If they put it out, I will down load it.

      • Google already has a tracking/tracing app. It's called maps. If you don't turn off collection of your activity it will keep track of places you visit whether or not you used navigation to get there.

        If you notice, though, it's garbage. It's forever insisting that I visited places to which I've never been, because I parked or even just stopped near them. Sometimes it tells me that I visited some place down the street from where I actually went, not even next door but several addresses down. If I were particul

        • maps is radically different than contact tracing that Google/Apple are working on. In the later case, Google/Apple will have the phones notify each other as they are within range of each other, and exchange certificates. It is a TRUE contact tracing.

    • I don't trust either of them that far. More importantly, I don't trust the government not to swoop in and grab all the data, and prohibit them from telling us. I don't trust either of them to anonymize the data, either, before someone chimes in with that argument. Anonymization turns out to be really hard, and not in either of their interests, especially Google's.

      Remember how the USPS told us that they just throw away the data after they scan mail for routing automation? And then it turned out that the data was being handed over to the feds? Just like that.

      • You can write your own app. It's surprisingly easy. It's not anonymized data, it's just random numbers.

      • Anonymization turns out to be really hard, and not in either of their interests, especially Google's.

        Anonymization isn't necessary when the data is just a collection of random numbers to begin with. Literally random numbers, from a random number generator, and not linked or associated with anything.

        As for Google... even if it weren't just random numbers, what do you think Google would get from this that Google can't already get?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by antdude ( 79039 )

        "Trust no one."

  • HOW TRACK AND TRACE WORKS ONCE LOCKDOWN ENDS (Score:5, Funny)

    by schwit1 ( 797399 ) on Saturday June 13, 2020 @12:38PM (#60179472)

    HOW TRACK AND TRACE WORKS ONCE LOCKDOWN ENDS — IN FULL as seen on Facebook

    • A contact tracer will text or email a person who has tested positive with coronavirus
    • That person will assume it’s some sort of scam and delete the message
    • The contact tracer will then phone the person
    • The person will block the caller, assuming the unknown number is one of those automated calls wanting to know if they've recently been in a car accident
    • The contact tracer finally gets through 36 hours later to the person, who has meanwhile spread the virus widely, to ask who they have been in contact with, so those people can be made to self-isolate for fourteen days
    • The person with coronavirus includes a number of people they don’t like in that list, forcing them to go into two-week quarantine
    • And conveniently forgets to mention Karen from Marketing with whom they’re having an affair
    • Er...
    • That’s it.
  • Good. I'm glad that cancerous shit is not being forced on anyone anywhere else. We're all tracked and surveiled too much as-is, we sure as fuck don't need even more surveillance watching our every move. You disagree? You somehow think there's no alterior motive behind any of this? You somehow believe it won't be subverted, perverted into something to collected even more data that Big Tech shouldn't have? That the government, the cops, won't use to stick their little brown noses into our lives even more than

    • What we need is to get people to STOP BEING SELFISH

      (fixed that for you)

      People need to stop acting like wearing a mask while out in public is a horrible affront to their human rights, start washing their damn filthy hands, and perhaps demonstrate a little empathy for the uninsured and high-risk members of society. The most callous thing I've seen frequently repeated is that those who are "afraid" of getting the virus should just stay at home, as if there were actually some safety net in place to keep your bills paid and food in your fridge while you try to

      • Want to know what I really think? This is all evolution in action. We're on the cusp of there being too many of us. Nature is asserting itself. A vaccine will solve the problem. But meanwhile people have turned back into superstitious cavemen. Even the smartest among us aren't immune to reverting to that. So we have to put up with all the running around like chickens with their heads cut off waving their arms in the air panicking until everyone realises they can calm down and think again.
  • NO! No contact tracing apps! If ONE good thing comes out of all this BLM/Antifa crap is that "social distancing" is just another attempt to STOMP on individual rights. As with the TSA, it's called conditioning. Getting you use to the idea of something, that is for YOUR safety. Now, pretty much no one blinks an eye, when the TSA violates your rights. But but but it's for YOUR safety. Sure, CHECK EVERYONE because if we "profile" that would be "racist". Contact tracing, is just another in a long line of

    • Except that social distancing definitely does reduce the spread of covid19. The TSA, on the other hand, do fuck-all, except make me start using Amtrak and finding out how much more pleasant rail travel is than using an airport.

      Anecdotes aside, we should also note that the social distancing measures are temporary, whereas there in no end in sight for the invasive TSA.

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