Application ProteGo Stop Covid - Could it have been an opportunity to prevent Covid-19 spreading?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31261/polpre.2021.29.47-59

Keywords:

contact tracing apps, COVID-19, STOP COVID-ProteGo Safe, Ministry of Digital Affair

Abstract

This article has several aims. The first one, based on analysis of real-life data of the first Norwegian contact tracing app “The Smittestopp app”, is to show how digital contact tracing apps work and their function and possible impact in COVID-19-crisis. I mainly focused on apps designed to automatically tell users or/and public health officials whether somebody has potentially been exposed to COVID-19. What are the factors that could impact its reception from the public opinion? The second one is to present the result of automated contact tracing apps that are backed by national governments in selected countries. And finally, I would like to look at the social, political, economic, and psychological circumstances of launching the Polish application “ProteGo Stop Covid”. I characterize the process and conditions that occurred when the Polish government was working on it and try to answer the question if it were possible to implement this process more effectively.

References

Cronin, O., Izdebski, K., Katchaounova, A., Laanpere, L., & Laufente, R. (2021). Do EU Governments Continue to Operate Contact Tracing Apps Illegitimately? The Civil Liberties Union for Europe. https://www.bghelsinki.org/en/reports/do-eu-governments-continue-to-operate-contact-tracing-apps-illegitimately

Czubkowska, S. (2021, August 5). Z polskiej aplikacji do walki z COVID-19 skorzystało tylko 7 tys. osób. Kosztowała miliony, teraz jest w powolnej agonii. Spider's Web. https://spidersweb.pl/plus/2021/08/aplikacja-protego-covid-pandemia

Elmokashfi, A., Sundnes, J., Kvalbein, A. et al. (2021). Nationwide rollout reveals efficacy of epidemic control through digital contact tracing. Nature Communications, 12, 5918. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26144-8

Grekousis, G., & Liu, Y. (2021). Digital contact tracing, community uptake, and proximity awareness technology to fight COVID-19: a systematic review. Sustainable cities and society, 71, 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.102995

Johnson, B. (2020, December 16). The Covid Tracing Tracker: What's happening in coronavirus apps around the world. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/16/1014878/covid-tracing-tracker/

Joński, D. [@Dariusz_Jonski] (2020, October 28). BUM Zapytaliśmy z @MichalSzczerba o aplikacje Stop COViD ProteGO Safe (koszty ponad 5 mln zł!). https://twitter.com/Dariusz_Jonski/status/1321397111049625600

Julus. [@duzemysli] (2020, October 26). NIE POBIERAJCIE APLIKACJI STOP COVID [Image attached]. https://mobile.twitter.com/duzemysli/status/1320701247431860225

Kardys, W. [@WojtekKardys] (2020, June 9). Sprawdziłem ten hasztag #ProteGo i tak jak Mikołaj @Buszkers zauważył - wszystkie tweety od konto założone w czerwcu 2020 roku. https://twitter.com/WojtekKardys/status/1270348403092918272

Klicki, W., & Szymielewicz, K. (2020, June 8). ProteGO Safe: czy państwo zasłuży na zaufanie obywateli? Fundacja Panoptykon. https://panoptykon.org/wiadomosc/protego-safe-czy-panstwo-zasluzy-na-zaufanie-obywateli

Kozłowski, A. (2020, August 8). Minister Cyfryzacji: Zarzuty wobec aplikacji ProteGo Safe są całkowicie nieuzasadnione [WYWIAD]. Cyberdefence24. https://cyberdefence24.pl/minister-cyfryzacji-zarzuty-wobec-aplikacji-protego-safe-sa-calkowicie-nieuzasadnione-wywiad

Leith, D., &Farrell, S. (2020). Coronavirus Contact Tracing: Evaluating the Potential of Using Bluetooth Received Signal Strength for Proximity Detection. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 50(4), 66–74. https://doi.org/10.1145/3431832.3431840

LibertiesEU. (2021, June 2). COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps in the EU: Knowledge Hub. Civil Liberties Union for Europe. https://www.liberties.eu/en/stories/trackerhub1-mainpage/43437

Morozov, E. (2014). To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism. PublicAffairs.

Meijer, A., & Webster, C. W. R. (2020). The COVID-19-crisis and the information polity: An overview of responses and discussions in twenty-one countries from six continents. Information Polity, 25(3), 243–274.

Napierała, W. (2020, April 6). Technologia w walce z koronawirusem – 7 filarów zaufania. Fundacja Panoptykon. https://panoptykon.org/7-filarow-zaufania

OECD (2021). General government - Trust in government. OECD Data. Retrieved December 27, 2021, from https://data.oecd.org/gga/trust-in-government.htm

Potiuk, J. (2020, April 30). Możliwość de-anonimizacji danych i odtworzenia grafu kontaktów. Github. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://github.com/ProteGO-Safe/specs/issues/123

Romanów, M. (2021, March 22). Jak powstawała aplikacja STOP COVID ProteGo Safe? MobileTrends.pl. https://mobiletrends.pl/jak-powstawala-aplikacja-stop-covid-protego-safe/

Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. (n.d.). Dokumenty - STOP COVID - Portal Gov.pl. Gov.pl. Retrieved November, 2021, from https://www.gov.pl/web/protegosafe/dokumenty

Serwis Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. (2020, June 9). Wszystko w Twoich rękach – pobierz, zainstaluj i korzystaj z aplikacji ProteGO Safe - STOP COVID. Gov.pl. https://www.gov.pl/web/protegosafe/wszystko-w-twoich-rekach--pobierz-zainstaluj-i-korzystaj-z-aplikacji-protego-safe

Szymielewicz, K., Obem, A., & Zieliński, T. (2020, May 5). Jak Polska walczy z koronawirusem i dlaczego aplikacja nas przed nim nie ochroni? Fundacja Panoptykon. https://panoptykon.org/protego-safe-ryzyka

WHO. (2020, February 11). WHO Director-General's remarks at the media briefing on 2019-nCoV on 11 February 2020. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-2019-ncov-on-11-february-2020

YLE NEWS. (2021, March 1). Experts claim few benefits to Covid tracing app, paper reports. YLE News. https://yle.fi/news/3-11814681

Worldometer (2021). COVID Live - Coronavirus Statistics. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Downloads

Published

2022-01-02

How to Cite

Banasiak, J. (2022). Application ProteGo Stop Covid - Could it have been an opportunity to prevent Covid-19 spreading?. Political Preferences, (29), 47–59. https://doi.org/10.31261/polpre.2021.29.47-59