Owners of an Apple smartphone or with the Android operating system receive information when updating the system software that Apple and Google want to make the function of official Corona warning apps possible.
Conclusion: Google has secretly expanded its Android smartphones without the update to include the interface for the planned Corona warning apps, where governments can spy on their citizens.
Evaluation: The claims are wrong. The technical preparation of Android and iOS was not done secretly, but was announced publicly by both companies on April 10. In addition, you cannot spy on users via the app. A comprehensive data protection concept was implemented, in which no geodata or contact details are recorded or transmitted.
Data Protection Experts Expressed Considerable Concerns
In order to curb infection chains, work is underway in many countries on apps that technically record the contacts of smartphone users in order to be able to contact them later if one should have been infected with the corona virus. The functions and data protection concept have been discussed since February. Initial considerations to use geospatial data or mobile phone to determine such encounters were quickly rejected, also because data protection experts expressed considerable concerns.
The storage concept has long been the subject of controversy among scientists and data protection experts. The conflict was decided by the initiative of Apple and Google, which only allow their program interfaces to be used for a Corona warning app if the contact details are stored decentrally.
In the case of the iPhone in particular, a tracing app relies on these APIs in order to be able to continuously send and receive signals if the app is active in the background and does not only run on an unlocked iPhone in the foreground. Apple has so far prohibited such intensive radio operations for data protection reasons.Apple released the iOS 13.5 operating system update, which also introduced a Covid 19 contact protocol. The protocol is initially switched off and can only be activated when an authorized application such as the planned Corona warning app from the federal government is installed.
Virus Tracker
Total cases in the US: More than 1,547,300
Total deaths in the US: At least 92,600
Reported cases in California: 84,449
Total test results (positive and negative) in California: 1,339,316
Reported cases in New York: 359,235
Total test results (positive and negative) in New York: 1,467,739
Reported cases in New Jersey: 150,399
Total test results (positive and negative) in New Jersey: 520,182
Reported cases in Illinois: 98,300
Total test results (positive and negative) in Illinois: 621,684
