CEAC-2020-10-October
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Techline<br />
Apple, Google Build Virus-Tracing Tech<br />
Directly Into Phones By Matt O’Brien | AP Technology Writer<br />
Apple and Google are trying to get more U.S. states to adopt<br />
their phone-based approach for tracing and curbing the<br />
spread of the coronavirus by building more of the necessary<br />
technology directly into phone software.<br />
That could make it much easier for people to get the tool on<br />
their phone even if their local public health agency hasn’t<br />
built its own compatible app.<br />
On Sept. 1, the tech giants launched the second phase of<br />
their “exposure notification” system, designed to automatically<br />
alert people if they might have been exposed to the<br />
coronavirus.<br />
Until now, only a handful of U.S. states have built pandemic<br />
apps using the tech companies’ framework, which has seen<br />
somewhat wider adoption in Europe and other parts of the<br />
world.<br />
States must choose whether they want to enable the Apple-Google<br />
system. If they do, iPhone users in those states<br />
will automatically be able to opt into the system without<br />
having to download an app. They’ll be prompted with a notification<br />
asking if they consent to running the system on their<br />
phones.<br />
the Google-Apple model include North Dakota, Wyoming,<br />
Alabama and Nevada. The University of Arizona also has one<br />
that is expected to eventually go statewide.<br />
Some of the apps don’t work as well once people travel<br />
across state borders, although a group of coordinating public<br />
health agencies is working to fix that by setting up a national<br />
server.<br />
The technology relies on Bluetooth wireless signals to determine<br />
whether an individual has spent time near anyone<br />
else who has tested positive for the virus. Both people in<br />
this scenario must have signed up to use the Google-Apple<br />
technology. Instead of geographic location, the app relies on<br />
proximity. The companies say the app won’t reveal personal<br />
information either to them or public health officials.<br />
Individuals who receive such proximity alerts will typically be<br />
offered testing and health advice to prevent potential future<br />
spread of the virus.<br />
For people with Android phones, Google will automatically<br />
generate an Android app for public health agencies that<br />
phone users can then download.<br />
The companies said they expect Maryland, Nevada, Virginia<br />
and Washington, D.C., to be the first in the U.S. to launch the<br />
new version of their tool. Virginia says nearly half a million<br />
of its 8.5 million residents have downloaded its app since the<br />
state in early August became the first to launch a customized<br />
pandemic app using the Google-Apple framework.<br />
Other states that have since launched COVID-19 apps using<br />
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Volume 85 · Number <strong>10</strong> | 53
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