Today, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Mark Warner (D-VA) introduced the “Public Health Emergency Privacy Act” to protect Americans’ privacy even as contact tracing, exposure notification, and other coronavirus surveillance technology becomes commonplace. Public Knowledge commends Sens. Blumenthal, Warner, and Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) for introducing a bill to provide meaningful privacy, security, and civil rights protections for Americans’ data collected during this crisis.
The following can be attributed to Sara Collins, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“As contact-tracing apps and other types of COVID-19 surveillance become commonplace in the United States, this legislation will protect the privacy of Americans regardless of the type of technology used or who created it. It is critical that Congress continue to work to prevent this type of corporate or government surveillance from becoming ubiquitous and compulsory.
You may view our recent blog post, “Privacy-Protective Contact Tracing Depends on More Than an API,” for more information on contact tracing.
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