Surveillance fears over TraceTogether Token unwarranted

THE government's decision to roll out a contact tracing device, the TraceTogether Token, later this month has generated a fair amount of controversy, with concerns that it would turn Singapore into a "surveillance state".

Some are worried that the device, to be carried by residents when they are outside their homes, would enable the government to monitor their whereabouts at all times. While privacy concerns are important, the fears about policing are unwarranted and appear to stem from a misunderstanding of the technology used in these tokens. For any device to be able to track the movement of its user at all times with a high degree of accuracy, it must have two key capabilities: One is a global positioning system (GPS) chip or tracker, and the other is an ability to connect to the Internet, either through Wi-Fi or cellular communication. Think of how turn-by-turn navigation systems work in smartphones.

According to the government, the TraceTogether Token will not have a GPS tracker and neither will it come with Internet or cellular connectivity. It will work on the basis of what is known as Bluetooth proximity. Pertinently, the data that it collects can only be pulled from the device after the user hands it over to the Ministry of Health (MOH); this would happen if and when the user tests positive for the Covid-19 virus. Even then, the data will be protected under Singapore's personal data protection laws.

In the absence of a vaccine and a well-established treatment regimen, countries around the world are using non-medical means to contain the spread of the pandemic. These measures include Singapore's circuit breaker, social distancing and quarantine for high-risk individuals who may have come in contact with an infected patient. For quarantine to work effectively, quick identification is important to break the chain of transmission. The TraceTogether app and TraceTogether Token are technological tools that help with contact tracing.

According to a global database maintained by MIT Technology Review, 29 countries including Singapore have rolled out applications or devices for contract tracing. Almost all of them use Bluetooth for tracing purposes. So what Singapore is attempting is not unique, nor is it sinister.

Finally, it is useful to remember that smartphones and many feature phones already have built-in GPS, which, in many instances, are always turned on. It is also possible to keep tabs on individuals via their phones based on which mobile tower the phone is connected to at any given point of time. In reality, the government does not need an additional device to keep tabs on the movement of people if it wished to do so.

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The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest crisis since World War II and while privacy concerns are of prime importance, they cannot be viewed in isolation to the greater good of society. As Singapore looks to resume more activities, it is critical to control the spread of the virus, particularly in the run-up to and during the early stages of the post-circuit breaker Phase Two, in which almost the entire economy will re-open, subject to safe management measures in place. The economy needs to start to get back on track; at the same time, any spike in new Covid-19 cases must be prevented. The government needs to be able to meet those two objectives, and it should be free to use the (proper and safe) tools in its arsenal to do so.