‘Big Brother Like’ Apps Not On Malta’s Agenda But Could Be If People Don’t Cooperate, Minister Confirms
Malta has no immediate plans to implement ‘Big Brother’ like apps to enforce quarantine but could well do so in the future if people don’t cooperate with the law, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri has confirmed.
“The government has received a number of proposals from corporate entities interested in developing such an app but we don’t feel we need it at this stage,” Camilleri said. “Public cooperation on quarantine has increased, only a few people are getting caught breaking the law and we believe the fines are acting as a strong deterrent.”
“However, we exclude nothing. I urge the people to cooperate with the authorities so we don’t need to end up in a state of Big Brother.”
Nationalist MP Ivan Bartolo recently urged the government to introduce an app to track the spread of COVID-19 and assist the police in catching quarantine abusers. He said this app could also be paired with high-tech wearables which would be able to detect people’s vital signs such as their temperature, a potential symptom of the coronavirus.
He said people who try to cheat the system by leaving their phones at home should be punished with fines of up to €20,000 or imprisonment.
A number of countries have turned to high-tech solutions to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Hong Kong and Taiwan are using surveillance bracelets to enforce quarantine rules, while Israel has recently approved the monitoring of mobile phones of patients who have tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, scientists and researches in the UK have developed an app (covid.joinzoe.com) which encourages people to self-report any symptoms on a daily basis, which will allow them to study the symptoms of COVID-19 and help the authorities track the spread of the virus.
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