Page 80 - SAMENA Trends - May 2020
P. 80
ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS
ARTICLE
COVID-19: Contact Tracing Mobile Apps and Data Sharing
Practices in MENA
Government authorities in MENA countries have
developed mobile apps to help in tackling the COVID-19
pandemic. Five MENA countries have developed
contact tracing apps but with different approaches and
functionalities. Data sharing practices in the MENA
countries also vary.
Many countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) adopted technological
solutions to halt the spread of COVID-19. Five MENA countries (Bahrain, Jordan,
Qatar, Tunisia and UAE) have developed contact tracing apps to alert people who
have been in recent contact with those who have tested positive for coronavirus.
During the pandemic, many telecoms operators around the world have announced
that they are sharing specific information with government authorities. This includes
Ali Hayajneh the sharing of anonymised location data to enforce quarantine and to limit movement
between specific areas. However, no such measures have been announced by a
Senior Analyst, Cullen International country in the MENA region.
Instead, many government authorities in MENA asked individuals to provide the data
voluntarily, by installing mobile apps and to consent to sharing their location and
contact information. Individuals were requested to volunteer to install COVID-19
related mobile apps in all the studied MENA countries, except in Bahrain and Qatar
where installing the contact tracing app is mandatory in specific cases.
Data sharing by telecoms operators
None of the researched MENA countries officially required telecoms operators to
share data with the government as a specific measure to mitigate the spread of
COVID-19.
Four of the researched MENA countries have adopted a personal data protection law (Cullen International)
Muatasem Khair Ad-Deen
Senior Analyst, Cullen International
This article is an extract from recent research by Cullen International among nine countries across the MENA
region.
80 MAY 2020
