What Happens to COVID-19 Data After the Pandemic? Socio-Technical Lessons

The COVID-19 global pandemic outbreak meant a complete reevaluation of societal interactions, business processes, and government policies. For decades, the scientific and technical communities had contemplated the possibility of an all-out air-borne virus and had postulated how technology might be used in response, for example, in the reduction of transmission rates. In this paper, we examine the Australian COVID-19 technological response, focused initially on using a contact tracing app that would continually be broadcasting for known recorded cases, one nearby smartphone to another, and to the successive deployment of a QR-code-based solution requiring checking in and checking out of a place of congregation, like a closed or open campus setting. Despite the lackluster outcomes of the high-fidelity solutions, government continued, and in some instances, persisted in relying on QR codes for a considerable period. These solutions necessitated the collection of data pertaining to an individual for functioning, prompting a series of questions regarding the collection, storage, dissemination, and use of this data, both at the height of the pandemic and presently. On reflection, was the data effectively used or integrated into the proposed processes? Could the data be utilized in an unauthorized manner? And how might we circumvent its unauthorized use moving forward? Are there any potentially positive use cases that we could envisage? And, significantly, in the context of this piece, what are the broader socio-technical lessons or learnings that could be derived from such implementations that can be reinstituted into the design of future health-oriented systems? This paper provides an overview of Australia’s contact tracing app, from here on referred to as COVIDSafe, and the subsequent use of QR Codes that were state based and governed by the Services arm of the Australian Government, to present design insights relevant to both the Australian context and beyond.