This is an open letter asking for answers to questions about contact tracing in the form of a public hearing. It is our hope that you will download this letter and send it to everyone you deem necessary (local officials, public health committees, county commissioners, school boards, local newspapers, medical staff, etc.) Also please consider sharing this information on your social media. THIS LETTER HAS BEEN SENT TO ALL 170 NORTH CAROLINA SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES.
Thank you for your work as a public servant during these challenging times.
I'm writing to ask for public hearings about contact tracing which NC is instituting. Contact tracing has traditionally been done between a doctor and patient, protecting the privacy of the patient and those who had been in contact with them. Now, contact tracers are being hired across the nation and trained to do this work on their personal, home-based computers, using data collected from an app on citizens’ cell phones that traces individuals and groups to a particular location.
How will NC protect our privacy and personal medical information? It is unlawful for the government to use data to track individuals without a warrant. For government officers to use cell data to track people, they must have either express permission or a warrant for every single individual. (See Supreme Court case Carpenter v. U.S.)
What if only a small percentage of people are willing to share personal medical information on an app? Will NC mandate its citizens to comply? Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has indicated that people who refuse to cooperate with contact trackers or refuse COVID-19 testing won’t be allowed to leave their homes or will face sanctions in civil or criminal court.
These questions must not be decided by executive order. I ask that a public hearing be held including experts in the fields of constitutional rights, HIPAA privacy laws, computer security, and the public. This hearing would allow experts and citizens to weigh in on concerns, conflicts of interest and challenges to the primary goal of protecting the privacy and personal medical information of our citizens.
Thank you for taking my concerns into account.