Qatar virus tracing app stirs rare privacy backlash

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Privacy concerns over Qatar's coronavirus contact tracing app, a tool that is mandatory on pain of prison, have prompted a rare backlash and ...

A masked man checks his phone in Qatar where residents and citizens have been required by law to install a coronavirus contact tracing app on their handsets since Friday AFP/KARIM JAAFARShare this contentDOHA: Privacy concerns over Qatar's coronavirus contact tracing app, a tool that is mandatory on pain of prison, have prompted a rare backlash and forced officials to offer reassurance and concessions.

"I can't understand why it needs all these permissions," wrote Ala'a on a Facebook group popular with Doha's large expat community - one of several such forums peppered with concerns over the app. Security forces manned checkpoints across Qatar on Sunday to ensure use of the app, local media reported, alongside checking for use of masks.However, officials have said that the law on the app will be enforced with"understanding".

"There will be an update for the Ehteraz app to address the issues of concern and further improve its efficiency," he added in an interview on state television on Thursday. It"is highly invasive, with a range of permissions allowing the government access to things that are not needed for the purpose of contact tracing, permissions that are unnecessary and present a concerning invasion of privacy."

 

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