US state prosecutors push Apple and Google to scrutinise contact tracing apps

Attorney generals of 39 US states issued a letter to the CEOs of Google and Apple, urging the two companies to verify contact-tracing apps on their app stores. The letter notes their concern that some contact-tracing apps available on Google Play and App Store may expose consumers’ personal information to security risks. The state prosecutors urged the two companies to take the following actions: (a) verify that every contact tracing app is affiliated with a public health authority, hospital, or university in the USA that is working with public health authorities; (b) take down any apps that cannot be verified for the aforementioned condition; and (c) commit to remove all COVID-19 related contact-tracing apps, including those that use the exposure notification system developed by Google and Apple, once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.