Massachusetts where liberty was born and died.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2...phones-lawsuit-says/


The state DPH is accused in a new lawsuit of working with Google to plant spyware in smartphones during the COVID craze. (AP file photo)
The state Department of Public Health was accused of working with Google to “secretly” install COVID-19 contact tracing “spyware” onto more than 1 million Android smartphones.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court on behalf of two Bay State Android users, who allege that a DPH contact tracing app was downloaded onto their phones on or around July 1, 2021, without their “permission or awareness.”

“Conspiring with a private company to hijack residents’ smartphones without the owners’ knowledge or consent is not a tool that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health may lawfully employ in its efforts to combat COVID-19,” the complaint stated.

“Such brazen disregard for civil liberties violates both the United States and Massachusetts Constitutions, and it must stop now.”

A DPH spokesperson declined comment, stating the department has not received any documentation related to the lawsuit, and “does not comment on pending litigation.”

The complaint alleges that DPH began working with Google on June 15, 2021, to install the app onto more than 1 million Android phones located in the Bay State, impacting people who live or work there.

This was allegedly done to “increase adoption” because “few Massachusetts residents voluntarily installed” the software.

Once the app is downloaded, the user’s phone is constantly connected to and information is exchanged with other nearby devices via Bluetooth, to create a record of those connections, the complaint stated.

If a user opts into the app and reports being infected by COVID-19, an exposure notification is sent to other individuals on the infected user’s connection record, the lawsuit said.

If someone doesn’t opt in, their information is still shared via Bluetooth, and becomes available to Google, DPH, and other third parties, which can trace the user’s identity and past contacts through device information, the complaint stated.

“This ‘Android attack,’ deliberately designed to override the constitutional and legal rights of citizens to be free from government intrusions upon their privacy without their consent, reads like dystopian science fiction — and must be swiftly invalidated by the court,” said Peggy Little, senior litigation counsel for NCLA.

At least two dozen other states have developed COVID-19 contact-tracing apps using Google API, but Massachusetts is the only state to “surreptitiously embed” the app onto mobile devices that DPH locates within its borders, the lawsuit stated.

Once downloaded, the app does not appear alongside other apps on the Android device’s home screen. It can only be found by opening “settings” and using the “view all apps” feature, which keeps users unaware of its presence in many cases, the lawsuit said.

When Android users discovered and deleted the contact tracing app, DPH allegedly proceeded to reinstall it onto their smartphones, the lawsuit stated.

According to NCLA, it appears iPhone users had to consent before a similar app was installed onto their devices.

“These secret installations not only invade owners’ reasonable expectation of privacy, but they also intrude upon owners’ property right in their mobile devices by occupying valuable storage space,” the complaint stated.

“Because the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions prohibit governmental entities from unreasonable searches and uncompensated takings, this court should enjoin DPH’s unconstitutional scheme.”

Fun. Sue Massacheusetts to screw with the system, sue Google for funding and hopefully insane profit.

Governments and high tech gone wild. If integrity is how an entity behaves when no one is looking, they have none. People involved should be held personally accountable.

quote:

Originally posted by spunk639:
“Because the Massachusetts and United States Constitutions prohibit governmental entities from unreasonable searches and uncompensated takings, this court should enjoin DPH’s unconstitutional scheme.”

IMO, both the people in the Massachusetts State government that directed this be done and those who facilitated it should be criminally prosecuted, if possible.

As for Google's part in it: Well... Google ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ All the big tech companies have essentially become Evil, these days. But, of them all, Google may well be absolutely the worst. I dunno. Between Google and Facebook, it's hard to say.

I'm not real happy with Apple, these days, for several reasons, but I still don't regret getting entirely out of the Googlesphere when I did. Alphabet/Google are absolutely not to be trusted, IMO.

I'm glad I live in Illinois. I know our state officials would never do something like this.

Thanks for the laugh CoolRich.

I live in Maryland and remember a pop up on the iPhone asking me to allow contact tracing and declined. Sounds like MD may have tried something similar without the forced load.

"I, [state your name], do solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of [insert state, or] The United States of America against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic".

This oath of office is something to be straight-up ignored and shit on by so many in politics these days, to include some of our beloved Republicants. No...that isn't a typo.

Remember back when everyone said, 'Don't worry, go ahead and get the update, it's just an API'...

Tip of the iceberg.

Michigan pushed a similar App. I wouldn't touch it. For a while, if you entered a business that Whitmer "allowed" to be open, you had to enter your name, address and phone number on an entry log. So the powers that be could hunt down everyone with the sniffles.
Butch Cassidy lived again. His address was a storage locker. And his phone number was the bus station.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Michigan pushed a similar App. I wouldn't touch it. For a while, if you entered a business that Whitmer "allowed" to be open, you had to enter your name, address and phone number on an entry log. So the powers that be could hunt down everyone with the sniffles.
Butch Cassidy lived again. His address was a storage locker. And his phone number was the bus station.

Amazing how many times Elwood Blues at 1060 W Addison ate out in my area. John Wick frequented a lot of restaurants as well.

Out of curiosity, how many Massachusetts firearms owner are in the state’s firearms licensing bureau database?

And was this data collected on anyone who the police had under surveillance? Did the warrant authorizing that surveillance permit the installation of tracking software on the phones of the suspect’s family? Criminal defense attorneys can muddy the waters of cases to come, and perhaps in raising new appeals.