Concerns regarding “solutions” to the current COVID-19 pandemic, including contact tracing apps, have been raised with some resolutions offered by global scientists and researchers. In a joint statement on contact tracing signed by over 300 professors and academics from around the world, it was stated that “contact tracing is a well-understood tool to tackle epidemics, and has traditionally been done manually” but “manual contact tracing is time-consuming and is limited to people who can be identified.” Whilst the academics acknowledged that contact tracing apps on a personal smartphones may improve the effectiveness of the manual contact tracing technique, and allow a person who has been infected to be notified, they argued that “we need to ensure that those implemented preserve the privacy of users, thus safeguarding against many other issues,” noting that such apps can otherwise be repurposed to enable unwarranted discrimination and surveillance.

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