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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has awarded two out of five stars to Aarogya Setu (Representative Image)
NEW DELHI: Massachusetts Institute of Technology has given two out of five stars to Aarogya Setu, reigniting the debate on contact tracking privacy policies application. After the Union The Ministry of Information and Technology released a new set of “guidelines” around data Storage and retention on Monday, digital rights activists also questioned some discrepancies with the existing terms and conditions of the app.
The new protocol, among other things, lists a “sunset clause,” which requires that data stored on servers be used for Covid-19 purposes only and deleted after 180 days. Called Aarogya Setu Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol (2020), they were developed by an “empowered group” in data management and technology.
The MIT tracker documented at least 25 applications from different countries and on parameters such as the type of personal data collected, its retention, minimization, transparency and whether the application is mandatory or not.
India lost points due to lack of transparency, making enforcement mandatory and does not define who the data is shared with. China’s contact tracking app is rated worst, at zero. Applications developed by Austria, Iceland, Israel, Norway and Singapore are 5/5. “India is currently the only democratic nation that makes its coronavirus tracking application mandatory for millions of people,” wrote Patrick Howell of the MIT technical review.
