{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,28]],"date-time":"2026-02-28T00:11:05Z","timestamp":1772237465375,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","issue":"11","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JMIR Mhealth Uhealth"],"abstract":"<jats:p>As the world struggles with the new COVID-19 pandemic, contact tracing apps of various types have been adopted in many jurisdictions for combating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. However, even if they are successful in containing the virus within national borders, these apps are becoming ineffective as international travel is gradually resumed. The problem rests in the plurality of apps and their inability to operate in a synchronized manner, as well as the absence of an international entity with the power to coordinate and analyze the information collected by the disparate apps. The risk of creating a useless Tower of Babel of COVID-19 contact tracing apps is very real, endangering global health. This paper analyzes legal barriers for realizing the interoperability of contact tracing apps and emphasizes the need for developing coordinated solutions to promote safe international travel and global pandemic control.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.2196\/23194","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,3]],"date-time":"2020-11-03T18:17:02Z","timestamp":1604427422000},"page":"e23194","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":25,"title":["COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps: A Technologic Tower of Babel and the Gap for International Pandemic Control"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0463-5241","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Li","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7895-2181","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vera L\u00facia","family":"Raposo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2530-2836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meng","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30421-9"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abb6936"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/sciadv.abc0764"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)31278-2"},{"key":"ref5","unstructured":"COVIDSafe appAustralian Government Department of Health2020-10-30https:\/\/www.health.gov.au\/resources\/apps-and-tools\/covidsafe-app?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6-ew3_7Q6wIVVz5gCh2VnwUoEAAYAiAAEgJ6Q_D_BwE"},{"key":"ref6","unstructured":"Download COVID Alert todayGovernment of Canada2020-10-30https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/coronavirus-disease-covid-19\/covid-alert.html"},{"key":"ref7","unstructured":"FernandezEPrivacy And Contact Tracing Apps - Google And Apple Debate With World GovernmentsForbes202004242020-10-30https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/fernandezelizabeth\/2020\/04\/24\/privacy-and-contact-tracing-appsgoogle-and-apple-debate-with-world-governments\/#1e837deb4518"},{"key":"ref8","unstructured":"JeeCApple and Google have launched coronavirus exposure notifications without an appMIT Technology Review202009022020-10-30https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2020\/09\/02\/1007921\/apple-and-google-have-launched-coronavirus-exposure-notifications-without-an-app\/"},{"key":"ref9","unstructured":"Mobile contact tracing apps in EU Member StatesEuropean Commission2020-10-30https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/info\/live-work-travel-eu\/health\/coronavirus-response\/travel-during-coronavirus-pandemic\/mobile-contact-tracing-apps-eu-member-states_en"},{"key":"ref10","unstructured":"O'NeillPRyan-MosleyTJohnsonBA flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it\u2019s time to keep track of themMIT Technology Review202005072020-10-30https:\/\/www.technologyreview.com\/2020\/05\/07\/1000961\/launching-mittr-covid-tracing-tracker"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2589-7500(20)30144-8"},{"key":"ref12","unstructured":"KimHECoronavirus privacy: Are South Korea's alerts too revealing?BBC202003052020-10-30https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-51733145"},{"key":"ref13","unstructured":"van der EyckenDEurope\u2019s plan for contact tracing apps against COVID-19CITIP blog202005072020-10-30https:\/\/www.law.kuleuven.be\/citip\/blog\/europes-plan-for-contact-tracing-apps-against-covid-19\/"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2139\/ssrn.3609516"},{"key":"ref15","unstructured":"Regulation (EU) 2016\/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95\/46\/EC (General Data Protection Regulation)EUR-Lex201604272020-10-30https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/eli\/reg\/2016\/679\/oj"},{"key":"ref16","unstructured":"Directive 2002\/58\/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2002 concerning the processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector (Directive on privacy and electronic communications)EUR-Lex200207122020-10-30https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/ALL\/?uri=CELEX%3A32002L0058"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/13600834.2019.1573501"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1093\/jlb\/lsaa034"},{"key":"ref19","unstructured":"1.81.5. California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 [1798.100 - 1798.199]California Legislative Information20182020-10-30http:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&division=3.&title=1.81.5.&part=4.&chapter&article"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/hast.1042"},{"key":"ref21","unstructured":"JehlLFrielACCPA and GDPR Comparison ChartPractical Law2020-11-21https:\/\/www.info-hisa.si\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/CCPA-GDPR-Chart.pdf"},{"key":"ref22","unstructured":"ABTraceTogether privacy statementGovernment of Alberta2020-11-21https:\/\/www.alberta.ca\/ab-trace-together-privacy.aspx"},{"key":"ref23","unstructured":"ABTraceTogether FAQGovernment of Alberta2020-11-21https:\/\/www.alberta.ca\/ab-trace-together-faq.aspx"},{"key":"ref24","unstructured":"Public Health Act, RSA 2000, c P-37CanLii2020-11-21https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/ab\/laws\/stat\/rsa-2000-c-p-37\/168700\/rsa-2000-c-p-37.html"},{"key":"ref25","unstructured":"Health Information Act, RSA 2000, c H-5CanLii2020-11-21https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/ab\/laws\/stat\/rsa-2000-c-h-5\/168705\/rsa-2000-c-h-5.html"},{"key":"ref26","unstructured":"Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, RSO 1990, c F.31CanLii2020-11-23https:\/\/www.canlii.org\/en\/on\/laws\/stat\/rso-1990-c-f31\/latest\/rso-1990-c-f31.html"},{"key":"ref27","unstructured":"Chapter 3 Rights of the data subjectGeneral Data Protection Regulation2020-11-21https:\/\/gdpr-info.eu\/chapter-3\/"},{"key":"ref28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/10192557.2019.1646015"},{"key":"ref29","unstructured":"Data Protection and Privacy Legislation WorldwideUNCTAD2020-10-30https:\/\/unctad.org\/page\/data-protection-and-privacy-legislation-worldwide"},{"key":"ref30","unstructured":"XinhuaChina solicits opinions on security assessment of cross-border transfer of personal informationChina Daily201906132020-11-21http:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201906\/13\/WS5d02240da3103dbf14328095.html"},{"key":"ref31","unstructured":"General Data Protection Regulation GDPRGeneral Data Protection Regulation2020-11-21https:\/\/gdpr-info.eu\/"},{"key":"ref32","unstructured":"Privacy Amendment (Public Health Contact Information) Act 2020Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation2020-11-21https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.au\/Details\/C2020A00044"},{"key":"ref33","unstructured":"The COVIDSafe Application Privacy Impact AssessmentAustralian Government Department of Health202004242020-11-21https:\/\/www.health.gov.au\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/2020\/04\/covidsafe-application-privacy-impact-assessment-covidsafe-application-privacy-impact-assessment.pdf"},{"key":"ref34","unstructured":"EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences. European Parliament resolution of 17 April 2020 on EU coordinated action to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences (2020\/2616(RSP))European Parliament2020-10-30https:\/\/www.europarl.europa.eu\/doceo\/document\/TA-9-2020-0054_EN.pdf"},{"key":"ref35","unstructured":"Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020\/518 of 8 April 2020 on a common Union toolbox for the use of technology and data to combat and exit from the COVID-19 crisis, in particular concerning mobile applications and the use of anonymised mobility dataEUR-Lex202004142020-10-30https:\/\/eur-lex.europa.eu\/legal-content\/EN\/TXT\/?uri=CELEX%3A32020H0518"},{"key":"ref36","unstructured":"Statementon the data protection impact of the interoperability of contact tracing appsEuropean Data Protection Board2020-10-30https:\/\/edpb.europa.eu\/sites\/edpb\/files\/files\/file1\/edpb_statementinteroperabilitycontacttracingapps_en_0.pdf"},{"key":"ref37","unstructured":"Coronavirus: EU interoperability gateway goes live, first contact tracing and warning apps linked to the systemEuropean Commission202010192020-10-30https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/commission\/presscorner\/detail\/en\/ip_20_1904"},{"key":"ref38","unstructured":"WHOEthical considerations to guide the use of digital proximity tracking technologies for COVID-19 contact tracingWorld Health Organization202005282020-10-30https:\/\/www.who.int\/publications\/i\/item\/WHO-2019-nCoV-Ethics_Contact_tracing_apps-2020.1"},{"key":"ref39","unstructured":"Public health considerations while resuming international travelWorld Health Organization202007302020-10-30https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/articles-detail\/public-health-considerations-while-resuming-international-travel"},{"key":"ref40","unstructured":"WHO\u2019s Data Tool improves Ebola Surveillance, Contact Tracing and Decision Making in UgandaWorld Health Organization Uganda201907262020-10-30https:\/\/www.afro.who.int\/news\/whos-data-tool-improves-ebola-surveillance-contact-tracing-and-decision-making-uganda"},{"key":"ref41","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ypmed.2014.05.006"},{"key":"ref42","unstructured":"DataProtection Commissioner vJudgment in Case C-311\/18 Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland and Maximillian SchremsCourt of Justice of the European Union202007162020-10-30https:\/\/curia.europa.eu\/jcms\/upload\/docs\/application\/pdf\/2020-07\/cp200091en.pdf"}],"container-title":["JMIR mHealth and uHealth"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","deposited":{"date-parts":[[2020,12,4]],"date-time":"2020-12-04T14:37:15Z","timestamp":1607092635000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/mhealth.jmir.org\/2020\/11\/e23194\/"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,27]]},"references-count":42,"journal-issue":{"issue":"11","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/23194","relation":{"has-preprint":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.2196\/preprints.23194","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2291-5222"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2291-5222","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,11,27]]}}}