Senators Question Tim Cook About Apple’s COVID-19 App

Icon of Apple’s coved-19 app

Several Democratic senators asked Tim Cook questions about the privacy of Apple’s newly released COVID-19 screening website and app (via Bloomberg).

Private Screening

Senators Bob Menendez, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal sent a letter to Apple about concerns over its treatment of health data in its COVID-19 screening tools. They want to know about Apple’s data-sharing practices and if it complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Icon of Apple’s coved-19 app

Apple’s website says that it doesn’t collect peoples’ answers in the tool, and the senators did note that it doesn’t require people to sign into the website and responses aren’t sent to Apple or any organization.

This is in contrast to Google’s website Project Baseline, which has a screening tool for people in California. In order to use the tool, people are required to sign into their Google account, and it doesn’t comply with HIPAA, either.

[Apple Launches COVID-19 Screening Tool on App Store and the Web]

[US Apple Store Closures to Remain Until Early May]

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