I was quoted in DW.com (Deutsche Welle online) in an article about coronavirus and data privacy, with a discussion about contact tracing apps.

What's the harm in Zoom schooling or contact tracing? By Zulfikar Abbany. Published in 26 May 2020

"It raises a red flag," says Dr. Monica Horten, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of The Closing of the Net.

"The global platforms may be using the public health emergency to embed themselves with governments," says Horten.

Horten is concerned that social media platforms have placed themselves in a dominant position to influence the flow of information ? even later, when all this is said and done ? although it's just an observation at present. Something to watch. She is also concerned about the data collected by contact tracing apps."

"Monica Horten says movement of people means movement of goods: "It would therefore be practical to have a pan-European contact tracing system and for the UK to be part of that."

""It must not be possible for governments or commercial providers [of contact tracing apps] to obtain the 'social graph' of individuals," says Horten. "The social graph of a contact tracing app would reveal not only data about people the user knows, or those with whom they have had contact, but it could also [be] people they have just been near. This would be overly intrusive and is not necessary for the purpose of addressing the public health emergency."

"Horten says there should be a termination arrangement, so that when the public health emergency is declared over, the contact tracing apps cease to function."