COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps: A Technologic Tower of Babel and the Gap for International Pandemic Control

• Main Author: Du, Li
• Publication Date: 2020
• Other Authors: Raposo, Vera Lúcia, Wang, Meng
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/106234; https://doi.org/10.2196/23194
• topic: COVID-19; contact tracing apps; privacy; public health; global health; COVID-19; Contact Tracing; Global Health; Humans; Mobile Applications; SARS-CoV-2; Travel; International Cooperation

As the world struggles with the new COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps of various types have been adopted in many jurisdictions for combating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, even if they are successful in containing the virus within national borders, these apps are becoming ineffective as international travel is gradually resumed. The problem rests in the plurality of apps and their inability to operate in a synchronized manner, as well as the absence of an international entity with the power to coordinate and analyze the information collected by the disparate apps. The risk of creating a useless Tower of Babel of COVID-19 contact tracing apps is very real, endangering global health. This paper analyzes legal barriers for realizing the interoperability of contact tracing apps and emphasizes the need for developing coordinated solutions to promote safe international travel and global pandemic control.