Passing oppressive laws and giving power to the police in order to suppress the population has sadly already become a trend in profoundly corrupt nations. Many countries have imposed restrictions based not only on age, but on gender, social class and other violations of human rights and dignity, all within the pretext of the coronavirus and the ‘new normal’.

LESS SINISTER ON THE ROCK

The problem is less sinister on the Rock, where complaints circle more along the grounds of economic discrimination, particularly involving the government’s BEAT-Covid strategy. But there are sectors of society that believe the GSLP is nonetheless lurking in the gloomy grey areas of opportunism during the crisis in order to restore depleted financial reserves. The people will ultimately take stock of what exactly this ‘new normal’ really entails and judge what is for their own good, or for the good of a few.

Another worry is the potential data breach caused by the use of technology as a means of tracking individuals who could spread the coronavirus, which has been condemned in certain countries. Gibraltar, as an emerging technological hub with vast amounts of information stored in huge super computers, showcases a robust data protection agency that polices a high-risk zone.

The Gibraltar Regulatory Authority quickly highlighted the potential data breach caused by contact tracing, but was knocked back by the government almost instantly. The GSLP said that was working well within World Health Organisation and data protection guidelines and wouldn’t dream of holding people’s data against their will. Still the body urged caution and issued guidance on the use of such apps, but the technology was quickly rolled out and downloaded by a large percentage of the population.

“As with any emerging technology, it is important to recognise the data protection and privacy risks that may arise as a result,” the GRA said in a statement.

The WHO has limited power in influencing nations to follow a unified standard and is merely an advisory board in the process, one that is changing by the day. In the end, each government takes its own views on the advice and implements its own policies, but mistakes have already been made and received worldwide coverage, including within the realms of technology.

Last month an Amnesty International investigation revealed serious breaches in data protection from three developed nations violating privacy of their citizens with apps designed in response to the pandemic. Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway rolled out some of the most invasive COVID-19 contact tracing apps around the world, putting the privacy and security of hundreds of thousands of people at risk. The findings revealed that all three actively carried out live or near-live tracking of users’ locations by frequently uploading GPS coordinates to a central server.

In Gibraltar, the government created a contact tracing app, which Minister for Digital Services Albert Isola affirmed was ‘completely anonymous’, with ‘no personal data logged or shared’ with anyone at any time. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo last month confirmed the presence of a Contact Tracing Bureau under the government’s wing, and the app would provide it with ‘invaluable support’ in order to ‘respond quickly’.

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20-07-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR