Around a month ago, the publication TechCrunch released an article detailing the usage of a mandatory, location-tracking application for students of Albion College in Michigan. The app, Aura, aims to automatically alert school officials when a student has tested positive for COVID-19 and alerts students if they had come into close contact with said individual. However, for this functionality to work, it tracks student's locations around the clock.
This, in itself, would cause concern. However, there has also been at minimum 2 security risks within the app. As a result, some students on campus felt rather reluctant to return, as this privacy-invading application was mandatory for all students -- no exception.
Thus, in my eyes, Aura has gone past the fence that separates "necessary" and "invasive". It is a flawed app, both logistically and ethically. Logistically, it is obvious that the app was rushed through development, which has allowed flaws that are easily exploitable by those with the proper knowledge. On the other hand, the large storage of student's location data is cause for concern. While the staff at Albion may have the student's best intentions at mind, the potential leaking of this data can cause massive problems for both the students and staff.
If Penn State, the school I attend, implemented this application like Albion, I would vehemently oppose it. I would never allow such an app, created in such short notice by a relatively unknown company, to collect and store data regarding my every move. A student has the right to keep their personal data private, even if it does come at the cost of safety.
The principle behind the application -- tracking students to inform them if they had come into contact with a person with COVID-19 -- is reasonable, in a sense. Albion does want to protect its students and further their reinforcements against COVID. However, the way they've approached this problem is wrong. There are some ways that this tracking can work in a "tracking lite" mode. For example, logging the location of key-swipes of student IDs across buildings on campus could work. This would allow the institution to still have a rough sketch of the student's whereabouts before their positive test, which would then allow them to alert a larger range of students that may have had contact with this person.
Overall, this is a slippery slope. While Aura is too sketchy of an app for my liking, I do not believe that it is trying to do consumers harm. I believe that it is just a half-baked application that was created in a rush to fill a new void within the market. Over time, I believe that apps such as Aura will begin to iron out these kinks in order to make more secure and accurate applications. Nonetheless, I personally would still be pretty worried if a location-tracking app became mandatory for me to get my education.
Phew. That was a lot to get off my chest. Honestly, I haven't written like that for a few months, ever since my AP English class. Anyways, welcome to week 3 of my blog! Down below you can find my video explaining my new physical diagram for COVID-19 alongside the updated conceptual diagram.
Physical Diagram:
Conceptual Diagram:
~ Incerah
Top comments (0)