A bioethical view on contact tracing
Prof. Effy Vayena, who heads the Health Data Governance and Value Creation module in Future Health Technologies discusses privacy in contact tracing in this ETH podcast.
Various contact-tracing apps are currently being developed worldwide to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Apps are seen as a necessary tool in the battle to contain coronavirus infections. However, they also raise ethical questions – not least of which is how to implement digital contact tracing in accordance with data protection.
Prof. Effy Vayena, professor of Bioethics at ETH Zurich and leader of the Health Data Governance and Value Creation module in the Future Health Technologies programme, explains contact tracing, its benefits, and privacy issues in the podcast To trace or not to trace: Contact tracing and repecting privacy.
Prof. Vayena remains optimistic that digital technologies can help reduce the speed at which the virus spreads. "We are currently dealing with a variety of technologies that are able to protect our privacy while still serving their purpose," she says.
She is currently in Switzerland's COVID-19 scientific task force in the area of digital epidemiology and contact tracing and she is also co-chairing a group at the WHO on digital technologies against COVID-19.
To do this right, you need to use the right technology, and there has to be the right governance.Prof. Effy Vayena