Wed Jun 16

Police debacle leaves the McGowan government battling to rebuild public trust in the SafeWA app

Written by Tama Leaver, Professor of Internet Studies, Curtin University

QR code contact-tracing apps are a crucial part ^[1] of our defence against COVID-19. But their value depends on being widely used, which in turn means people using these apps need to be confident their data won’t be misused.

That’s why this week’s revelation ^[2] that Western Australian police accessed data gathered using the SafeWA app ^[3] are a serious concern.

WA Premier Mark McGowan’s government has enjoyed unprecedented public support ^[4] for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic thus far. But this incident risks undermining the WA public’s trust in their state’s contact-tracing regime.

While the federal government’s relatively expensive ^[5] COVIDSafe tracking app ^[6] — which was designed to work automatically via Bluetooth — has become little more than the butt of jokes ^[7], the scanning of QR codes at all kinds of venues has now become second nature to many Australians.

These contact-tracing apps work by logging the locations and times of people’s movements, with the help of unique QR codes at cafes, shops and other public buildings. Individuals scan the code with their phone’s camera, and the app allows this data to be collated across the state.

That data is hugely valuable for contact tracing, but also very personal. Using apps rather than paper-based forms greatly speeds up access to the data when it is needed. And when trying to locate close contacts of a positive COVID-19 case, every minute counts.

But this process necessarily involves the public placing their trust in governments to properly, safely and securely use personal data for the advertised purpose, and nothing else.

Australian governments have a poor track record ^[9] of protecting personal data, having suffered a range of data breaches over the past few years. At the same time, negative publicity ^[10] about the handling of personal data by digital and social media companies has highlighted the need for people to be careful about what data they share with apps in general.

The SafeWA app was downloaded by more than 260,000 people within days of its release ^[11], in large part because of widespread trust in the WA government’s strong track record in handling COVID-19. When the app was launched in November last year, McGowan wrote on his Facebook page ^[12] that the data would “only be accessible by authorised Department of Health contact tracing personnel”.

Police debacle leaves the McGowan government battling to rebuild public trust in the SafeWA app

Screenshot of Mark McGowan’s Facebook Page announcing the SafeWA App. Mark McGowan's Facebook Page

In spite of this, it has now emerged that WA Police twice accessed SafeWA data ^[13] as part of a “high-profile” murder investigation. The fact the WA government knew in April ^[14] that this data was being accessed, but only informed the public in mid-June, further undermines trust in the way personal data is being managed.

McGowan today publicly criticised the police ^[15] for not agreeing to stop using SafeWA data. Yet the remit of the police is to pursue any evidence they can legally access, which currently includes data collected by the SafeWA app.

It is the government’s responsibility to protect the public’s privacy via carefully written, iron-clad legislation with no loopholes. Crucially, this legislation needs to be in place before contract-tracing apps are rolled out, not afterwards.

Roger Cook and Mark McGowan promoting COVID vaccines

Mark McGowan (right) has enjoyed unprecedented popularity amid his handling of the COVID pandemic. But this latest incident is a misstep. Richard Wainwright/AAP Image

It may well be that the state government held off on publicly disclosing details of the SafeWA data misuse until it had come up with a solution. It has now introduced a bill ^[16] to prevent SafeWA data being used for any purpose other than contact tracing.

This is a welcome development, and the government will have no trouble ^[17] passing the bill, given its thumping double majority. Repairing public trust might be a trickier prospect.

Trust is a premium commodity these days, and to have squandered it without adequate initial protections is a significant error.

The SafeWA app provided valuable information ^[18] that sped up contact tracing in WA during Perth’s outbreak in February. There is every reason to believe that if future cases occur, continued widespread use of the app will make it easier to locate close contacts, speed up targeted testing, and either avoid or limit the need for future lockdowns.

That will depend on the McGowan government swiftly regaining the public’s trust in the app. The new legislation is a big step in that direction, but there’s a lot more work to do. Trust is hard to win, and easy to lose.