Following the release of the contact tracing app in England and Wales this morning, the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) has been reviewing the privacy policy and user experience of the app.
While these appear to offer a level of functionality and privacy our compliance and legal teams are content with, take-up will simply not happen without consumer confidence and trust. Clear communication from the UK Government is key to helping both business and the public to understand both how and why they should use the app.
Please find comment below from Chris Combemale, CEO of the DMA, on the app, what’s needed to help build consumer trust and what businesses need from government. Full details on the DMA’s analysis are also available here.
“The NHS contact tracing app offers a simple user-friendly experience and strives to protect the privacy of the people using it. The key to its success will be trust, which will only come if the UK Government communicates clearly with both the public and the businesses they are visiting,” said Chris Combemale, CEO of the DMA.
On consumers: “Consumer confidence and trust will be imperative if the new app is going to work. After months of delays public trust in the delivery of the track and trace system is low, so it is important that government communicates the benefits of the new app clearly to ensure the trust in and take-up of the app needed.”
On businesses: “Over the last six months, businesses across the UK have developed their own contact tracing systems in the absence of a centralised approach from government. Now they have been told they must use this new app from today, but with few answers to the many questions they may have and no time to ask them. The UK Government must provide clear guidance for businesses on what they need to do, as well as educating consumers on the benefits and importance of it.”
