Abu Dhabi's lightning-fast COVID-19 scanners raise privacy fears

Reuters | 08 July 2021
| Jul 09, 2021

This Reuters article is concerned about new COVID-19 scanners in Abi Dhabi and the privacy violations and risks they present. Data rights groups are warning residents against this new technology; "Matt Mahmoudi, a technology researcher at Amnesty International, called it "the surveillance-for-services tradeoff" often seen in smart cities".

"Data rights groups are warning of privacy violations and risks to vulnerable communities after Abu Dhabi deployed scanners at border crossings, malls and other public locations that could detect COVID-19 in seconds.

The Abu Dhabi health department says the EDE scanners can confirm a COVID-19 infection by measuring an individual’s electromagnetic wave emissions, which it says are altered when the coronavirus is present, according to a June 27 statement by Abu Dhabi’s Media Office.

The new system has rights groups and even some residents worried."

Read the full article here.

Regions currently impacted: region