Civil Liberties Group Sues Massachusetts Over Tracing App

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health worked with Google to covertly install a COVID-19 tracing app that tracks and records movement and personal contacts of Android users without consent, the New Civil Liberties Alliance alleged in a class-action lawsuit filed Monday. The department “secretly” installed the app on more than a million Android devices because “few” state residents were downloading the original app, which “required voluntary adoption,” NCLA said: “When smartphone owners delete the app, DPH simply re-installs it.” The tracing app doesn’t appear on the home screen with other apps and can be found only when users open settings and use the “view all apps” feature, the lawsuit said. NCLA asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts to grant injunctive relief and nominal damages to the class, represented by plaintiffs Robert Wright, who lives a portion of the year in Great Barrington, and Johnny Kula, who doesn't live in the state but works there. “Persuading the public to voluntarily adopt such apps may be difficult, but it is also necessary in a free society,” said NCLA attorney Sheng Li. “The government may not secretly install surveillance devices on your personal property without a warrant -- even for a laudable purpose.” DPH hasn't received documentation about the lawsuit and doesn't comment on pending litigation, a staffer said Tuesday. The office for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) didn’t comment. Google didn’t comment.