UK may ditch NHS contact-tracing app for Apple and Google model

[Northerner]

The government has left open the prospect of ditching its own contact-tracing app in favour of the “decentralised” model favoured by Apple and Google after it was revealed that a feasibility study into such a change is under way.

After repeated warnings that the UK will be an outlier if it insists on using its own centralised app rather than relying on Google and Apple’s technology, rights groups and MPs said on Thursday that the lack of privacy and data protections could mean that the app would be illegal.

With growing questions over that approach, it emerged that the Swiss-based consultancy Zühlke Engineering has been hired to undertake a two-week “technical spike” to investigate implementing Apple and Google’s system “within the existing proximity mobile application and platform”.

UK may ditch NHS contact-tracing app for Apple and Google model

MPs and rights groups have warned lack of data protection could make UK app illegal

www.theguardian.com

The words 'p*ss up' and 'brewery' spring to mind

 

[Eddy Edson]

This sounds suspiciously sane.

I'd just insert a note that the Oz ap derived from the Singaporean one seems to have cost the govt less than $2M for the customisation even though they had Boston Consulting etc working on it. It seems to have taken just a few weeks. Integrating the Google/Apple tech to make it work better on iOS is supposed to take another couple of weeks. This isn't rocket science, unless you want it to be a "Completely Solve My Coronavirus Screw-up" solution.

 

[Northerner]

This sounds suspiciously sane.

I'd just insert a note that the Oz ap derived from the Singaporean one seems to have cost the govt less than $2M for the customisation even though they had Boston Consulting etc working on it. It seems to have taken just a few weeks. Integrating the Google/Apple tech to make it work better on iOS is supposed to take another couple of weeks. This isn't rocket science, unless you want it to be a "Completely Solve My Coronavirus Screw-up" solution.

What gets me is that they must have known ever since lockdown was put in place that they'd need something like this, so why is it only being tested and trialled now almost 7 weeks on?