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0 pointsAbishek_Muthian5y ago0 comments

> How is that legal?

You are forgetting the number of democratic countries which forced their COVID app from Appstore/Playstore on their citizens. They came short of calling it mandatory download but mandated the app as entry pass for several services.

You don't use a monopoly powered smartphone? You cannot afford a phone at all? Tough luck buddy(/s).

Only reason these COVID pass apps didn't stick around in the democratic countries is because the apps didn't do what's it's supposed to do; Ironically because the app couldn't be made mandatory download thereby not achieving the critical mass.

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7 comments · 3 top-level

hugi5y ago· 3 in thread

What countries were that?

Abishek_MuthianOP5y ago

Not going to name countries and trigger a slugfest. But will include the List of countries with official contact tracing apps[1] and you can search for which services those apps were mandated. EFF commentary on these apps[2].

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_apps#List_of_countrie...

[2]https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/09/covid-19-tracking-tech...

kbenson5y ago

There's no point to this. If you're going to call out a group for behavior, you should be willing to state their name. You didn't avoid a slugfest, you just confused the issue ye being ambiguous for no reason. The only negative consequences here are a few lost points, and you get that already for making allusions rather than statements with evidence, and providing a list of countries that have tracking apps is not evidence that any of those countries mandated its use.

If the consequences for you are larger than that because you think your country is somehow monitoring your statements, I doubt being vague like this actually helps and you could always supply some other country as evidence, since your statements imply there are multiple.

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hugi5y ago

My country (Iceland) has an official contact tracing app listed there. It was developed by volunteers and contributed to the government and the source is open on github. Nothing you said applies to it.

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asdfaoeu5y ago· 1 in thread

NSW (Australian state) actually has mandatory contract tracing[1] though you can use a web or physical form.

[1]: https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/covid-safe-check

Abishek_MuthianOP5y ago

Having a web app as well would have been slightly better, especially if it works in feature phones(In several developing countries feature phone usage is lot higher than smartphones even then they didn't publish a web app) but still doesn't help those who doesn't use a phone at all(whatever the reason might be).

Distribute free phones which is capable of running these COVID apps and then the issue comes down to just privacy.

Alternate physical form seems reasonable.

*just : Not to reduce the importance of privacy(EFF commentary in my other comment).

syshum5y ago

I am not sure why people are shocked that this kind of thing would happen in democratic societies. People seem to have a rose colored view of democracy, and believe it is synonymous with freedom... it is not

Democracies can be just as tyrannical as any other forms of government, doubly true when the people in that democracy have replaced the desire for freedom, with the desire for safety which most societies in the world today have less desire to be free, and more of a desire to be safe; falsely believing they can actually trade freedom for safety.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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