LoadingThe reliance on location-based data for contact tracing has raised concerns about the trade-offs between public health and privacy. Apple and Google's project could have potentially "alarming" implications for consumer privacy, US Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, wrote inIBM has faced criticism for its behaviors around user privacy in the past.
A spokesman told the Associated Press at the time that IBM has always been clear about the use of location data collected from users and would vigorously defend its "fully appropriate" disclosures. Regarding its contact tracing app, IBM executive vice president and director of Watson Health, John Kelly III, told Protocol that the app would only collect data for 16 days and that employees wouldn't be told the identity of the individual who reported feeling sick.
"We use it only for the stated purpose of reminding you where you were, or reminding you to socially distance, that meets our value system. We don't think it's ethical to truly electronically trace and track," Kelly told Protocol. An IBM spokesperson stressed to Business Insider that the app is voluntary, saying: "the health and safety of IBM employees, clients, and partners remains our top priority." The company did not specify what its plans were for the app once the coronavirus pandemic subsides other than that it would depend on what local governments express interest in.