S’pore limits contact-tracing data access after outcry over privacy

Certain exposure: A tracing app’s QR code seen in a taxi in Singapore, where recent disclosures spurred concern that the government was using personal information for more than just fighting Covid-19. — Bloomberg

THE nation’s parliament passed a law limiting the use of data collected for contact-tracing after the government admitted it could be accessed by police, sparking privacy concerns.

The city-state rolled out an application called “TraceTogether” last year, for tracking close contacts of Covid-19 patients that works via both a phone app and dongle, but uptake was initially slow.