S.T.O.P. Condemns Expansion Of NY State Vaccine Passport: ‘Excelsior Pass’

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View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Expansion Of NY State Vaccine Passport: ‘Excelsior Pass’ S.T.O.P. warns that vaccine passport expansion will undermine vaccination efforts and expand inequity in the vaccine roll-out.      [NEW YORK, NY, 3/29/2021] - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, condemned the expansion of Excelsior Pass, New York State’s vaccine passport app.  Excelsior Pass was first tested on March 2nd, 2021, during a Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center and a New York Rangers game at Madison Square Garden. On Friday, March 26th, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he would be expanding the vaccine passport program, encouraging use at smaller restaurants and preforming arts venues. SEE: Gothamist - NY Launches Vaccine Passport For Use At Venues, But Privacy Expert Urges You To Read The Fine Print https://gothamist.com/news/ny-launches-vaccine-passport-use-venues-privacy-expert-urges-you-read-fine-print   USA Today - New York launches nation's first 'vaccine passports.' Others are working on similar ideas, but many details must be worked out https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/03/26/covid-vaccine-passports-new-york-first-vaccination-proof-system/6976009002/   The Intercept - Cuomo’s Covid-19 Vaccine Passport Leaves Users Clueless About Privacy https://theintercept.com/2021/03/24/andrew-cuomo-covid-ibm-blockchain/ “This app is focused on protecting commercial landlords, not public health,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “This app is designed to make people feel better about returning to life as usual, but there’s no evidence this will actually work. This isn't something public health authorities have called for. The CDC guidance for large venues is no different for those with and without this lifesaving vaccine. And even worse, Excelsior Pass reportedly treats vaccinated New Yorkers as having the same health profile as those with a negative COVID-19 test, which flies in the face of current research. Alarmingly, we still don’t know how many New Yorkers contracted COVID-19 during the trial run for Excelsior Pass earlier this month.”    WIRED – Vaccine Passports Can Help the US Reopen—or Further Divide Us https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-vaccine-passports-can-help-the-us-reopen-or-further-divide-us   Developers have proposed requiring vaccine passports to access a variety of public spaces, ranging from work, to school, and even grocery stores. Currently, the Biden administration is reviewing the potential for national expansion of such a program, but officials have made no public statement about its viability.   SEE: Washington Post - The Technology 202: Tech giants are teaming up to build digital vaccine records https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/15/technology-202-tech-giants-are-teaming-up-build-digital-vaccine-records/   N.Y. Times – Coming Soon: The ‘Vaccine Passport’ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/travel/coronavirus-vaccine-passports.html   Cahn continued, “Vaccine passports are generally a bad idea, but Excelsior Pass is poised to be a technological disaster. Governor Cuomo gave us screenshots of the user-interface, but he refuses to disclose how the app actually works. We have no idea how this data can be tracked and if it's accessible to police. IBM and the governor are quick to throw around buzzwords like ‘block chain’, but they refuse to give us any of the technical details.”   The Excelsior Pass roll out comes amid growing evidence that past efforts at virus screening technology failed to stop the spread of COVID-19.   N.Y. Times – Colleges that require virus screening tech struggle to say whether it works. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/world/colleges-that-require-virus-screening-tech-struggle-to-say-whether-it-works.html   Cahn continues, “vaccine passports can transform health care inequity into digitized segregation. With wealthier, whiter communities getting better access to the vaccine, Excelsior Pass could exclude BIPOC and immigrant New Yorkers from public life. At a time when 1 in 5 Americans lack access to a smartphone, Excelsior Pass risks turning the digital divide into a new barrier for millions.” The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn      Copyright © 2019 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.