https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/business/coronavirus-cellphone-apps-conta... ... At their core, the apps are intended to gather information about the movements of people who have tested positive for the virus, alert others who might have crossed their paths, and in some cases make sure infected people stay quarantined. They use smartphone technologies, such as GPS and Bluetooth, to collect and share the data, which make them agile and easy to use but also provide an enticing target for hackers or government surveillance. ... There is no evidence that the apps will be effective without widespread testing for the virus and without enormous numbers of voluntary participants, which could be hampered by years of privacy scandals involving both governments and companies. ... “We’ve already learned what moving fast and breaking things can do to society,” said Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University, referring to the negative consequences of a tech mind-set that values speed and disruption above all else. -- EN ===================================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli@mat.uniroma2.it home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/blog/enardelli/ http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ ===================================================================== --