Jun 15, 2020 13:40:00

Why is the new Corona Contact Tracking API jointly developed by Google and Apple not popular in the US?

On June 13, 2020, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced that it will release a '

new coronavirus contact confirmation application ' in the middle of June. The contact tracking API by Google and Apple used in this application attracted a lot of attention especially in the United States, where the number of infected people is high, but 'the state that actually introduces this contact tracking API does not yet exist', overseas NBC News of the news media is reporting.

Coronavirus contact tracing apps were tech's chance to step up. They haven't.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/coronavirus-contact-tracing-apps-were-tech-s-chance-step-they-n1230211

Google, which provides Android, and Apple, which provides iOS, announced systems for tracking the spread of the new coronavirus in April 2020. This contact tracking system uses Bluetooth communication on smartphones to identify and notify if a person infected with the new coronavirus has been contacted. Furthermore, both companies have released an API that enables interoperability between iOS and Android devices.

Apple and Google integrate ``new corona virus tracking system'' into iOS and Android-GIGAZINE

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey has announced plans to hire 1600 personnel to call suspected individuals and track their behavior in an effort to track the spread of the new coronavirus. .. The plan does not include contact tracking using smartphone apps, and Governor Murphy said, 'At least at this time, New Jersey does not promote digital technology for virus exposure notifications and alerts.' I made a clear statement.

Governor Gavin Newtham of California has been enthusiastic about running a contact tracking app early on, but according to California Public Health spokeswoman Ali Bay, June 2020 As of March, it is said that a contact tracking system using a smartphone application has not been built in California. 'Most of the contact tracking for infected people can be done by phone, email, or chat,' said Bay.

According to NBC News, a news media

Business Insider released an article on June 11, 2020, asking the state public health departments 'whether they plan to introduce a contact tracking API between Google and Apple.' According to the article, as of June 2020, only three people in Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina will introduce a contact tracking API between Google and Apple. On the contrary, many states that were interested in using the contact tracking app on smartphones have withdrawn the operation of the application, and as of June 2020, the state that actually introduced the contact tracking API of Google and Apple is 1 It's no good.

NBC News asked Google and Apple, 'Which states have contact tracking APIs,' but they didn't get any comments.

NBC News pointed out that the reason why the introduction of Google and Apple's contact tracking API is slow in the United States is that 'new system development requires a lot of human capital investment'. 'Digital tools are not a replacement for the human capabilities needed to track contacts,' said Tedros Adanom, secretary general of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Live from WHO Headquarters-COVID-19 daily press briefing 08 June 2020-YouTube


NBC News also said, 'Neither Cheong Wa Dae or the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have approved Google and Apple's contact tracking API, which is one reason why system development is slowing down.' In the United States, there is no cohesive national project for contact tracking apps, so each state must provide its own funding and human resources for system development, which is a heavy burden on the state.

``CDC, Google, and Apple should have worked together to develop an app,'' said Tarn Niggadda, the founder of Corona Trace, a project that develops a new coronavirus infection spreading app. 'We gave up appealing the apps we developed to state and local governments and are now considering developing apps for commerce,' he said.

``From philanthropic donations to addressing false positives on social media, the tech industry can be a pandemic in a variety of ways,'' said Associate Professor Ryan Caro of the University of Washington's Law Department, who co-developed a new coronavirus contact tracking app with Microsoft. We've been fighting,' he said, even if the contact-tracking app wasn't successful.

Associate Professor Caro said, 'When President Trump came in and asked, 'What did you do?', 'We provided a contact tracking API. Even if the state doesn't use the API, You can't do anything about it,” he said. The technology industry has fulfilled a kind of obligation.”