Faculty of Law, University of Macau, Macau, SAR, China.
Faculty of Law, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2020 Nov 27;8(11):e23194. doi: 10.2196/23194.
As the world struggles with the new COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps of various types have been adopted in many jurisdictions for combating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, even if they are successful in containing the virus within national borders, these apps are becoming ineffective as international travel is gradually resumed. The problem rests in the plurality of apps and their inability to operate in a synchronized manner, as well as the absence of an international entity with the power to coordinate and analyze the information collected by the disparate apps. The risk of creating a useless Tower of Babel of COVID-19 contact tracing apps is very real, endangering global health. This paper analyzes legal barriers for realizing the interoperability of contact tracing apps and emphasizes the need for developing coordinated solutions to promote safe international travel and global pandemic control.
随着世界应对新的 COVID-19 大流行，许多司法管辖区都采用了各种类型的接触者追踪应用程序来控制 SARS-CoV-2 病毒的传播。然而，即使这些应用程序在国内成功控制了病毒，随着国际旅行的逐渐恢复，它们也变得不再有效。问题在于应用程序的多样性及其无法同步运作，以及缺乏一个具有协调和分析不同应用程序收集信息的权力的国际实体。创建一个无用的 COVID-19 接触者追踪应用程序的巴别塔的风险是非常现实的，这将危及全球健康。本文分析了实现接触者追踪应用程序互操作性的法律障碍，并强调需要制定协调的解决方案，以促进安全的国际旅行和全球大流行控制。
