The Mor Chana app won’t reveal personal data – Minister

21 Comments

1. 

   Jean-Pierre

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 3:36 pm

   It won’t reveal personal data ? …
   it will only display a computer code instead of the user’s name ?? … (which is, by the way, always linked to something but not displayed…)
   Thank you for the big laugh.
   As soon as you download it “from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store”, you had to login to your account, add it to your library, choose the already identified device, and install it.
   From this point, you have already publicly (at least for Google/Apple) given away a lot of personal data. Saying : the telemetry is without “personal data”, is only a figure of speech …
   Add on top of it a political environment with little confidence from all users/populations, and it is easy to doubt what is said.
   Now, I do not say that the app is bad. It is another step for circumventing this covid-19 already done in many countries. Simply, some statements are like saying “there is no gambling den in Bangkok” (and then, “oh it is just a misunderstanding”…)

   Reply
2. 

   John Brown

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 3:39 pm

   This is seriously such a waste of time and worse. Contact tracing apps, at their privacy-preserving best (cf DP-3T), aren’t sufficiently effective, and at anything less than their privacy-preserving best, will quickly drift into a totalitarian surveillance nightmare app and *still* be ineffective.

   The only real use for tracking apps is for keeping tabs on quarantine/isolation cases temporarily.

   Besides the privacy issues (hello, has anyone heard of baseband antennas?), the deeper problem with these apps is they replace none of the interventions of demonstrable value. They can’t replace cheap at-home Ag screenings (which remain poorly understood by idiots who can’t do math, and even bigger idiots who don’t bother learning to do math and who just listen to the idiots who can’t do math instead ?); or PCR’s (which aren’t perfect but are absolutely essential to use); and, most importantly, they can’t replace full lockdowns, done scientifically to not waste everyone’s time and exhaust everyone’s tolerance, which means the lockdown goal is zero-COVID full containment, not stupid ideas like mitigation (entertained by people who can’t do math and can’t understand multiplicative risk profiles).

   Contact tracing apps just spy on people, expose their data to criminals, and provide an illusion of safety. The point at which they may in some cases prevent infection is so far downstream as to be negligible in value. They’re pure security theater.

   This is yet another dinosaur-led disaster waste of our time and money, meanwhile B117 from overseas and the G clade strains from Myanmar both continue to rage across the country, completely unfazed by the all the half-measures taken that add up to useless for actually stopping the pandemic.

   On the other hand, if the real goal is to let the situation continue to get so bad that we all accept ongoing totalitarian rule, this is exactly how to accomplish that.

   I would seriously entertain that possibility, were this illegitimate, unelected junta not also the most incompetent bunch in the past 50 years, and that is saying something.

   Reply
   • 

     Issan John

     Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 7:37 pm

     If only the “cheap at-home Ag screenings” actually existed … but sadly they don’t, and even their biggest supporters such as Professor Michael Mina say that they’d take a year to be developed and rolled out by the start ups now developing them, which he says need a mere $20 billion (ythat’s billion, with a ‘b’) invested in them to make them work.

     … and in the meantime no country in the world has approved them (literally, not a single country) and none of the leading scientists, Covid experts and epidemioligists in the world in positions of authority in any country (again, literally none) has advocated investing in developing them.

     … why not? Because, apparently, they’re all “idiots who can’t do math” and all on the take from “interested” companies. No exceptions, in any country.

     Reply
   • 

     Issan John

     Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 8:01 pm

     …and you think the “contact tracing apps just spy on people, expose their data to criminals, and provide an illusion of safety. The point at which they may in some cases prevent infection is so far downstream as to be negligible in value” while the only solution is “full lockdowns … not stupid ideas like mitigation (entertained by people who can’t do math and can’t understand multiplicative risk profiles)”?

     Really?

     If that’s the case, it’s hard to understand why the five countries that have measurably handled the Covid pandemic the BEST (Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and Vietnam, in that order) have done either all or some of what you disparage, with Taiwan being the most obvious example …

     … while the five countries that have measurably handled the Covid pandemic the WORST (the USA, Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK, in that order) have done either all or some of what you advocate, with the UK being the most obvious example.

     Maybe less time spent imagining you can “do math” and “understand multiplicative risk profiles” better than any and all the lead scientists and epidemiologists in authority in any and every country in the world, and you may have noticed what’s actually worked and what hasn’t in the real world.

     There’s a vast choice of issues you can bash “this illegitimate, unelected junta” with, including over Covid with the farce of conflicting advice from the CCSA to stay at home at the exact same time as encouragement from the TAT to travel and the present failure to impose nationwide controls, but it’s just puerile to disagree with everything they do when the measures they’ve taken, at least until recently, whether by luck or judgement, have put Thailand up with the best in the world.

     Reply
     • 

       Andre

       Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 4:22 am

       These type of apps have been tried in Europe but failed, some of them even got scrutinized on security – and of course the tracking data will be used by other Thai agencies like police looking for protestors gathering etc. That they claim the data will not be used is pure bullshit, in other words nothing new from this government.

       If they wan’t to track movement they can just use mobile signals to see the flow of people.

       Reply
       • 

         Issan John

         Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 10:12 am

         They work pretty well in Taiwan!

         … and, rather obviously, they don’t just want to “track movement … to see the flow of people” – that’s not what track ‘n’ trace apps are for, which is to … well … track AND TRACE.

         Reply
3. 

   Siso

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 6:06 pm

   These tracking apps store more data then people realize. on the other hand is it nothing compared on what for example Facebook collects on data 24/7, so for people complaining over privacy on these apps while literally handing over there complete life on a silver plate to a private entity in Silicon Valley is kind of stupid.

   Facebook, google and the rest of the giants are just major supermarkets and we te people and our data are literally the products that’s just as simple as it is.

   Reply
   • 

     John Brown

     Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:31 pm

     Sad old man who can’t spell epidemiology or do math sad-old-mansplains epidemiology and math to public health policy worker, getting almost every factually verifiable point wrong in his reply, pretty wild ?

     If only he had a track record of doing his homework before posting instead of ignoring primary sources handed right to him and continuing to regurgitate the news, and if only he hadn’t been such an arrogant and intellectually dishonest jerk repeatedly earlier, he might be have been worth responding to!

     Reply
     • 

       Issan John

       Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 10:09 am

       It may give you a little more credibility if you explained why not a single country in the world has approved any such tests for use in the way you describe, nor has a single scientist or epidemiologist in any position of authority anywhere in the world supported them.

       Oh, sorry, they’re all too stupid and not worth responding to …

       Reply
       • 

         John Brown

         Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 5:20 pm

         Lmao at this nitwit still trying to sealion people who have told him repeatedly to go away, still trying to get them to do his homework for him. Maybe if he learned to read primary sources he wouldn’t be insecure about knowing f-all himself and having to rely on outdated news to form opinions.

         Anyone else here want to do his research for him? I’ve been there, done that, not doing it again, no matter how much he begs. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

         This pathetic concern troll who already had two chances needs to piss off. Not only did he not bother to do the homework I gave him, now he’s showing he can’t even tell the difference between a quarantine app and one for pre-emptive tracking. Clueless old man just keeps coming off as older and more clueless.

         Reply
   • 

     John Brown

     Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:34 pm

     SV companies don’t have right to use legitimized violence but the owners of Mor Chana do big difference even if both are bad

     Reply
4. 

   Bobby B

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 6:59 pm

   If so WHY must you give the app permissions to access your photos and videos? At least on iPhone it want to access you selfies.

   Now I don’t have any pictures I can’t standby, but snooping in my phone there goes the borderline. I will go and by the cheapest Android phone I can get and a sim card (registers to me) and only use that phone for Mor Chana

   Reply
5. 

   Issan John

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:07 pm

   I’m not defending the app, but the idea that contact tracing apps don’t work and the only answer is a total lockdown is just nonsense based on the evidence.

   The five countries that have handled the pandemic the best are Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and Vietnam. All use either use a tracing app or partial (not total) lockdown, or both, with the best example being Taiwan.

   On the other hand the five countries that have handled it the worst are the USA, Brazil, India, Mexico and the UK who have either had no effective tracing app or imposed a full lockdown, with the UK being the best example.

   Reply
   • 

     Icecream licker

     Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:34 pm

     Lock down for what? How is something that has killed 66 people in 1 year considered dangerous?

     Reply
     • 

       Issan John

       Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 10:27 am

       It’s “considered dangerous” in the same way that a rabid dog is dangerous if uncontrolled, but not dangerous if caged.

       Thailand has had 66 deaths in a year because it managed to keep the virus “caged”; the UK, a similar size, didn’t and consequently now has two hundred times that number of deaths – in a day.

       How can that be hard to understand?

       Reply
   • 

     Andre

     Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 4:33 am

     Now how do you define handled it “best”? Devastating the economy? Prioritizing people aged 60+ over young people? The cost of this is the young that have to carry, especially in europe and developed countries with extremely good compensation arrangments. It’s not the retired old people that will have to carry that cost – but the young. Mexico tried to close down with “draconian” rules, but the people protested and the government backed off and introduced a trafic light system instead – where red is a lot less restricting than anything in Thaland. People were more afraid of starving than corona! Shutting down a country have consequences – and those who live from day-to-day are the worst hit.

     Thailand have failed to bring people out of poverty, and this pandemic will be a setback for the little that have been gained years ago (nothing have been gained under the current government). The prospects for Thailand don’t look good – the numbers were already pointing in the wrong direction before the pandemic.

     Reply
     • 

       Issan John

       Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 10:31 am

       Fair point, Andre, but it’s not my definition – do any search using any parameters you like and the same countries come up for “best” and “worst”, with Mexico consistently being among the very worst.

       Reply
6. 

   Icecream licker

   Saturday, January 9, 2021 at 9:32 pm

   I prefer to lick ice cream not boots.

   Nothing on the internet is safe. Every site has been hacked or the data sold at some point.

   Reply
7. 

   Donatello

   Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 6:32 am

   I think if you want people (talking about foreigner) to use this app. You should first explain what is your price policy.
   I mean, your app say I was in range contact of infected people. What gonna happen? You gonna find me, take me without letting me refuse politely to make a test. Who pay for this test? Then your test say, I’m positive. You gonna sell me another test at the price you decide. If I’m very unlucky, the second test gonna say again I’m positive. Then you gonna take me by force again to a pricy quarantine and again at whatever the price you decide.

   So this app can only bring me problem and get stolen by all your wonderful protocol. I pass and continue to fly under your radar. Unfortunately, people have to avoid any control and flee to make sure to not fall in money trap.

   Reply
8. 

   chupapi

   Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 1:59 pm

   It’s not so different from other apps developed for this purpose in other countries. Of course there are those who dislike it but yet they daiky use devices that track them constantly beyond their knowledge. So many fool around.

   Reply
   • 

     Thomas

     Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 6:13 pm

     There is a big difference. The difference is this one is specifically designed to track you. If you qr code become red, they gonna chase you. So this app is very different.
     Red qr code, means money trap once they catch you.

     Reply