For Immediate Release
S.T.O.P. Releases Report On Ineffectiveness, Inequity & Invasiveness Of Vaccine Apps
Report details the defects and limitations of emerging electronic vaccine credentials, while highlighting the benefits of traditional school-based vaccine registries.
(New York, NY, 6/2/2021) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy group, released The Good, The Bad, & The Invasive, detailing the ineffectiveness, inequity, and invasiveness of vaccine apps, such as New York’s Excelsior Pass. The report found that traditional school vaccine registries are essential to contain the pandemic, and digital “yellow cards” may be helpful for international travel, but that domestic vaccine apps threaten a new form of segregation and facilitate invasive geolocation tracking.
SEE: The Good, The Bad, & The Invasive
https://www.stopspying.org/vaccineapps
The Hill - Vaccination tracking apps ineffective, amplify inequalities, pose privacy issues: report
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/556423-vaccination-tracking-apps-ineffective-amplify-inequalities-pose-privacy
“Vaccine apps are a pseudoscientific sales pitch, but the technology doesn’t work,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn. “Tech giants claim that installing digital vaccine bouncers at the doors to stores and other public venues will confirm who is really vaccinated, but these apps are no harder to forge than a white cardboard card. But while these vaccine apps are easy to forge, when they do work, they threaten to transform the inequity in our healthcare system into a new form of digital segregation. Many of those in communities hit hardest by the pandemic are still struggling to access the lifesaving vaccine. Rather than investing in a new form of surveillance, we should be investing in new measures to encourage every single person who is able to choose to get vaccinated.”
“The debate around vaccine credentials has become politically polarized, and that’s impeding good policymaking” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis. “On the one hand, some Republican leaders appear to be rejecting all vaccine checks as threats to personal freedom. On the other hand, some Democratic leaders support daily vaccine passes for access to stadiums, cafés, and every public venue in between. Our report offers an alternative to these extremes, emphasizing the utility and necessity of vaccine registries and yellow cards to returning safely to the pre-pandemic status quo.”
SEE: Wired – Vaccine Registries Are Good, Vaccine Apps Are Invasive
https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-vaccine-registries-are-good-vaccine-apps-are-invasive/
The Economist - Republicans want to ban businesses from requiring proof of vaccination
https://www.economist.com/united-states/2021/05/01/republicans-want-to-ban-businesses-from-requiring-proof-of-vaccination
Key Findings of the Report Include:
- Expanding traditional school vaccine registries to include COVID-19 inoculation would pose a minimal privacy burden.
- Digital vaccine passports for international travel may offer some benefits, but they face practical and ethical barriers to deployment.
- Vaccine tracking apps pose a potent threat in the domestic context and should be avoided at all costs. Where proof of vaccination is required, paper credentials are a preferred option.
The report comes as advocacy groups continue to raise privacy and equity concerns surrounding New York State’s Excelsior Pass, a vaccine app launched in March for sports and performing arts venues. In response, several states, including Texas and Florida, have introduced controversial executive orders that ban both vaccine apps and traditional paper-based vaccine registries.
SEE: The New York Times – Will the Excelsior Pass, New York’s Vaccine Passport, Catch On?
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/nyregion/new-york-vaccine-passport.html
Governor Greg Abbott – Executive Order GA-35
https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-35_private_health_information_protection_vaccines.pdf
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.
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CONTACT: S.T.O.P. Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn
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