Security News > 2021 > April > Brit MPs and campaigners come together to oppose COVID status certificates as 'divisive and discriminatory'

With Minister for the Cabinet Office Michael Gove expected to announce app-based "COVID status certificates," the UK's post-lockdown plan looks set to come under fierce attack.

They join other campaign groups, including Liberty, in backing the statement: "We oppose the divisive and discriminatory use of COVID status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs."

"Nonetheless, a Big Brother Watch report [PDF] on the prospect of COVID certificates said that any requirement to"use an app or, for individuals without a smartphone, a QR code, or possibly even to submit to a facial biometric check to convey sensitive medical information would engage Article 8 privacy rights, GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The idea of COVID vaccination or immunity status certificates requires both data about an individual's health and, linked to it, confirmation of their identity.

"Every proposed system for verifying someone's COVID status relies on the certificate being bound to an individual's sensitive medical data and verified via a photograph, biometric data or a link to a physical form of ID.".

Big Brother Watch said using the NHS app for COVID certificates "Would be even more intrinsically linked to individuals' identities than the Mvine/iProov approach, as NHS records contain a wealth of identifiable, sensitive information including NHS numbers. Using the NHS App for proof of a vaccine comes with a significant further privacy risk due to the wealth of other personal information available within it, from prescriptions to addresses, and these issues are yet to be addressed."

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/04/28/covid_status_certificates_uk/