Foto: Matthew Henry via Unsplash
Results of the Contact Tracing Survey
With the parliamentary decision of last week the way for the official launch of SwissCovid, the Swiss COVID19 contact tracing app, is paved. At the beginning of the development process of the SwissCovid App, we published a questionnaire on the topic. Its goal was to use ethical scenarios in order to sensitize the broader public on the ethical questions surrounding digital contact tracing.
From the almost 1000 participants of the questionnaire, the following insights can be drawn:
- Voluntary Character: 83% of the participants consider the voluntariness of the app to be the most important ethical criterion. Only a voluntary use would be in line with the individual autonomy of the citizens. Furthermore, 75% of the participants think that access to workplaces or public spaces should not be linked to the use of the app.
- Usage: 58% of the participants declare that they are willing to use an app as it was developed in Switzerland. The majority (70%) of those willing to use the app are believe that the expected benefit of the app and the protection of privacy are sufficiently balanced. In contrast, 76% of the 42% of participants who are not willing to use the app feel that the invasion of privacy is not proportionate. The acceptance of using a contact tracing app rapidly decreases when it comes to models such as those used in Taiwan or Singapore.
- Precedent: 72% of participants think that a digital contact tracing app sets a dangerous precedent of invasion of privacy. They expect that public authorities will be tempted to monitor citizens more closely, or that private actors will increase their power over users.
A complete overview of the results can be found here.
We are happy to provide access to the raw data to interested parties. Please contact rochel@ethix.ch for further information.