***Media Advisory***
Contact:
Albert Fox Cahn, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project; albert@stopspying.org; 571-766-6273
AS CONTACT TRACING IS ROLLED OUT ACROSS THE STATE, ADVOCATES RAISE THE ALARM ABOUT THE WEAPONIZATION OF INTIMATE HEALTH INFORMATION BY POLICE AND ICE
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS, HEALTH ADVOCATES & PUBLIC DEFENDERS URGE PASSAGE OF BILL PROTECTING CONFIDENTIALITY OF CONTACT TRACING DATA
NEW YORK—Local and national civil rights groups, public defenders and public health officials will hold a digital press conference on Tuesday, June 16th at 10:00AM, to demand New York State lawmakers pass legislation that protects contact tracing data for law enforcement and immigration enforcement.
When: Tuesday, June 16th at 10:00AM
Register on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WF8I8KcqRKOeBbkBZGxMNA
Who: Speakers include:
- Assemblyperson Richard N. Gottfried, Chair of Assembly Health Committee
- Senator Gustavo Rivera, Chair of Senate Health Committee
- Alice Fontier, Managing Director, Neighborhood Defender Service
- Allie Bohm, Policy Counsel, New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU)
- Albert Fox Cahn, Executive Director, Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP)
- Guillermo Chacon, President, Latino Commission on AIDS
- Amir Sadeghi, National Community Outreach Coordinator, Center for HIV Law and Policy
- Mateo Guerrero, Lead Organizer, Make the Road New York
- David Harvey, Executive Director, National Coalition of STD Directors
What: Digital press conference calling for the protection of contact tracing data from law enforcement and immigration enforcement. In order to be effective, contact tracing requires widespread participation. However, if there is any risk that this information can be used by law enforcement or ICE, many New Yorkers will refuse to cooperate with contact tracers, undermining a key public health strategy. Speakers will also emphasize that allowing law enforcement to access - and weaponize - contact tracing data will disproportionately impact communities of color who have suffered higher rates of illness and death from COVID-19 as well as abusive and sometimes brutal enforcement of social distancing rules.
Background:
- Contact tracing is a key public health strategy
- It is considered a necessary condition for re-opening New York. Indeed, Governor Cuomo has required that New York’s regions must each have thirty contact tracers per 100,000 residents in order to begin re-opening
- In order to be effective, contact tracing requires widespread participation. The health benefits of contact tracing increase as more people participate, and if participation falls below a certain threshold, contact tracing will not be effective.
- Contact tracing requires community trust. If the data it collects is used by law enforcement, communities vulnerable to police injustice have no reason to trust contact tracers.
- If there is any risk that this information can be used by law enforcement or ICE, many New Yorkers will refuse to cooperate with contact tracers.
- Without an ironclad privacy guarantee, New York will undermine one of our most important tools in combating COVID-19.
- Allowing law enforcement to access - and weaponize - contact tracing data will disproportionately impact communities of color.
- Black and brown communities are disproportionately likely to suffer from COVID-19 because of a toxic cocktail of socioeconomic factors, physical environment, and barriers to quality health care.
- These communities also bear the brunt of over-policing generally, and specifically in the enforcement of COVID-19-related social distancing.
- The nationwide Black Lives Matter actions show once again lay bare these communities’ justifiable mistrust in law enforcement. The police have already used social distancing as a pretext for racist, violent behavior. Communities of color must be certain that participation in contact tracing will not be weaponized against them.
- We have already seen the fear of law enforcement involvement in contact tracing have significant negative effects on public health efforts in Minnesota. There, the police have claimed that they are contact-tracing protesters, and, as expected, there has been reduced participation in contact tracing.
- The public health goal of contact tracing - to stem the spread of COVID-19 - will not be achieved if people do not trust that their information will be protected.
- To address these privacy, civil rights and public health concerns, Senator Rivera and Assembly Member Gottfried, the Chairs of the Health Committees, have introduced legislation to protect contact tracing data from law enforcement and immigration enforcement.
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