Utmost restraint in use of TraceTogether data, say ministers

 Click HERE

This had sparked criticism, with some pointing to remarks made in June by Dr Balakrishnan, who oversees the Smart Nation drive, that TraceTogether data would be used "purely for contact tracing, period". "Frankly, I had not thought of the CPC, when I spoke earlier," he admitted yesterday.

But TraceTogether data is not exempt from the provisions under Section 20 of the CPC, said Dr Balakrishnan, noting that it would not be reasonable to say that certain classes of data should be "out of reach of the police", especially if they could potentially give leads on, say, terrorism activities and save lives. He disclosed that TraceTogether data had been used in a murder case.

Dr Balakrishnan also said that when the pandemic is over, the TraceTogether programme would be stood down, and much of the data would be deleted. He said the Ministry of Health may retain epidemiological data, but that it should be stripped of identifying details.

Qns:

1. To what extent has technology had an impact on both privacy and security in your country? (Cam. 2009)

2. How far should a state have a right to monitor the actions of people within its borders? (Cam. 2007)