Over 21,000 signatures on petition against potential S'pore govt-issued mandatory wearable contact tracing devices
The device has not yet been developed.
Sulaiman Daud| June 07, 2020, 09:07 PM
An online petition opposing the use of mandatory wearable devices for Covid-19 tracing has been put up on Change.org.
The petition was started on June 4 by one Wilson Low.
As of 8:15pm on June 7, it has received over 21,600 signatures.
Alternative to TraceTogether app
On May 22, in an interview with Sky News Australia, foreign affairs minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the government received feedback that the TraceTogether app was draining phone battery life, and said that an alternative was being developed.
"So, the other thing which we are working on now to supplement this is to develop wearable devices, a little device on the end of a lanyard, which would be working on a battery and will not drain your battery life, and which you would just carry with you as you go around your daily activities."
On June 4, in Parliament, Vivian said the government also received feedback that the app did not work as well on Apple devices and on iOS.
Because of this, the government decided not to make the download of the app mandatory.
He mentioned the portable wearable device again, and said that if it works, it will be distributed to everyone in Singapore.
However, he did say for certain that wearing the device while leaving the house will be mandatory.
Petition against the wearable device
The petition stated that unlike apps on phones, the device will potentially be allowed to track a person's whereabouts whether or not they are within the range of a cellphone tower.
He added:
"All that is stopping the Singapore Government from becoming a surveillance state is the advent and mandating the compulsory usage of such a wearable device. What comes next would be laws that state these devices must not be turned off/remain on a person at all times - thus sealing our fate as a police state."
However, it is not confirmed how the new device will or it if allows the authorities to track a person's movements without the person's knowledge or consent.
Here are some of the replies:
Screen shot from Change.org
Screen shot from Change.org
Screen shot from Change.org
In an update on June 7, Low added that the issue of mandatory tracking technology is a moot point because it supposedly already has the potential to create a "two-tiered society", those who wear the devices and those who don't.
He even called it potential "apartheid", foreseeing a future where those who wear devices are unable to interact, commune, or live with those who reject the devices.
You can see the petition at this link.
Privacy safeguards of TraceTogether app
However, on June 4, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean outlined the privacy safeguards of the app in a written reply in Parliament.
The close contacts data gathered by TraceTogether will be stored only on the user’s phone in the first instance.
It is only accessed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) only if the individual tests positive for Covid-19.
If the close contact data on the person’s phone is required for contact tracing, only a small group of authorised individuals in MOH would be able to see the patient’s personal data.
All public sector data protection rules will also apply to the data transferred from the user’s phone to MOH, including abiding by the recommendations of the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee.
Safeguards, including encryption, are in place on the user’s phone to protect this data from hackers.
Data older than 25 days will be automatically deleted from the phone.
In his own Parliamentary reply, Vivian reiterated the privacy safeguards of the TraceTogether app, and said that quick and accurate contact tracing is necessary now that Singapore has ended circuit breaker and more people are moving around.
The device has not yet been developed.
Sulaiman Daud| June 07, 2020, 09:07 PM
An online petition opposing the use of mandatory wearable devices for Covid-19 tracing has been put up on Change.org.
The petition was started on June 4 by one Wilson Low.
As of 8:15pm on June 7, it has received over 21,600 signatures.
Alternative to TraceTogether app
On May 22, in an interview with Sky News Australia, foreign affairs minister Vivian Balakrishnan said the government received feedback that the TraceTogether app was draining phone battery life, and said that an alternative was being developed.
"So, the other thing which we are working on now to supplement this is to develop wearable devices, a little device on the end of a lanyard, which would be working on a battery and will not drain your battery life, and which you would just carry with you as you go around your daily activities."
On June 4, in Parliament, Vivian said the government also received feedback that the app did not work as well on Apple devices and on iOS.
Because of this, the government decided not to make the download of the app mandatory.
He mentioned the portable wearable device again, and said that if it works, it will be distributed to everyone in Singapore.
However, he did say for certain that wearing the device while leaving the house will be mandatory.
Petition against the wearable device
The petition stated that unlike apps on phones, the device will potentially be allowed to track a person's whereabouts whether or not they are within the range of a cellphone tower.
He added:
"All that is stopping the Singapore Government from becoming a surveillance state is the advent and mandating the compulsory usage of such a wearable device. What comes next would be laws that state these devices must not be turned off/remain on a person at all times - thus sealing our fate as a police state."
However, it is not confirmed how the new device will or it if allows the authorities to track a person's movements without the person's knowledge or consent.
Here are some of the replies:
Screen shot from Change.org
Screen shot from Change.org
Screen shot from Change.org
In an update on June 7, Low added that the issue of mandatory tracking technology is a moot point because it supposedly already has the potential to create a "two-tiered society", those who wear the devices and those who don't.
He even called it potential "apartheid", foreseeing a future where those who wear devices are unable to interact, commune, or live with those who reject the devices.
You can see the petition at this link.
Privacy safeguards of TraceTogether app
However, on June 4, Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean outlined the privacy safeguards of the app in a written reply in Parliament.
The close contacts data gathered by TraceTogether will be stored only on the user’s phone in the first instance.
It is only accessed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) only if the individual tests positive for Covid-19.
If the close contact data on the person’s phone is required for contact tracing, only a small group of authorised individuals in MOH would be able to see the patient’s personal data.
All public sector data protection rules will also apply to the data transferred from the user’s phone to MOH, including abiding by the recommendations of the Public Sector Data Security Review Committee.
Safeguards, including encryption, are in place on the user’s phone to protect this data from hackers.
Data older than 25 days will be automatically deleted from the phone.
In his own Parliamentary reply, Vivian reiterated the privacy safeguards of the TraceTogether app, and said that quick and accurate contact tracing is necessary now that Singapore has ended circuit breaker and more people are moving around.
KNN my uncle think they want to let pap know their vengeance but in fact this is doing more harm than good unless they can get min 51% of sinkie population to sign or else even eg 100k signature pap will take it as only 100k dislikes whereas if never sign pap will not know how many dislikes and will be more careful and fearful to implement KNN knowing only 100k dislikes do you think pap will hear your voice 
KNN it will only add to their confidence KNN since you know pap will not hear your voice hence back to the question why do sinkie sign petitions? KNN
