2020-04-26
The Government’s shameful disregard for privacy continues with the release of its COVID-19 app.
“If the Government wants people to use this app, they need to put protections in law beforehand,” Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said.
“People have very legitimate concerns about how the data will be used and where it will be stored.”
“The reported storage of the data by a US company raises real concerns. When it comes to privacy, if there’s one person I trust less than Peter Dutton, it’s Donald Trump.”
“We all want the lockdown to end, but something like this needs to be done properly because the stakes are too high. Once it’s out, the genie can’t be put back in the bottle.”
Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Nick McKim said the Government had a long and terrible track record of undermining privacy and IT blunders.
“This government has repeatedly failed to ensure the security of data it has collected, and has made an art form of deliberately releasing people’s sensitive personal information to media outlets for political gain,” Senator McKim said.
“They should immediately release the source code and relevant legislation before rolling this out to the public.”
“Peter Dutton has been dreaming of a surveillance state in Australia for years, and this app, without protections, takes him one step closer.”