The state Department of Public Health was accused of working with Google to “secretly” set up COVID-19 contact tracing “spyware” onto greater than 1 million Android smartphones.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court on behalf of two Bay State Android customers, who allege {that a} DPH contact tracing app was downloaded onto their telephones on or round July 1, 2021, with out their “permission or awareness.”
“Conspiring with a private company to hijack residents’ smartphones without the owners’ knowledge or consent is not a tool that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health may lawfully employ in its efforts to combat COVID-19,” the grievance said.
“Such brazen disregard for civil liberties violates both the United States and Massachusetts Constitutions, and it must stop now.”
A DPH spokesperson declined remark, stating the division has not acquired any documentation associated to the lawsuit, and “does not comment on pending litigation.”
The grievance alleges that DPH started working with Google on June 15, 2021, to put in the app onto greater than 1 million Android telephones positioned within the Bay State, impacting individuals who reside or work there.
This was allegedly completed to “increase adoption” as a result of “few Massachusetts residents voluntarily installed” the software program.
Once the app is downloaded, the person’s cellphone is consistently related to and data is exchanged with different close by gadgets through Bluetooth, to create a report of these connections, the grievance said.
If a person opts into the app and studies being contaminated by COVID-19, an publicity notification is shipped to different people on the contaminated person’s connection report, the lawsuit mentioned.
If somebody doesn’t choose in, their data continues to be shared through Bluetooth, and turns into accessible to Google, DPH, and different third events, which may hint the person’s id and previous contacts via machine data, the grievance said.
“This ‘Android attack,’ deliberately designed to override the constitutional and legal rights of citizens to be free from government intrusions upon their privacy without their consent, reads like dystopian science fiction — and must be swiftly invalidated by the court,” mentioned Peggy Little, senior litigation counsel for NCLA.
At least two dozen different states have developed COVID-19 contact-tracing apps utilizing Google API, however Massachusetts is the one state to “surreptitiously embed” the app onto cellular gadgets that DPH locates inside its borders, the lawsuit said.
Once downloaded, the app doesn’t seem alongside different apps on the Android machine’s dwelling display screen. It can solely be discovered by opening “settings” and utilizing the “view all apps” characteristic, which retains customers unaware of its presence in lots of circumstances, the lawsuit mentioned.
When Android customers found and deleted the contact tracing app, DPH allegedly proceeded to reinstall it onto their smartphones, the lawsuit said.
According to NCLA, it seems iPhone customers needed to consent earlier than an identical app was put in onto their gadgets.
“These secret installations not only invade owners’ reasonable expectation of privacy, but they also intrude upon owners’ property right in their mobile devices by occupying valuable storage space,” the grievance said.
“Because the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions prohibit governmental entities from unreasonable searches and uncompensated takings, this court should enjoin DPH’s unconstitutional scheme.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”