Massachusetts Health Department Covertly Installed COVID Spyware on Phones.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people proudly sported t-shirts, caps, stickers, and other accessories with the words “I Will Not Comply,” “I Did Not Comply,” “He/She/It Did Not Comply,” or “Ze/Zim/Zhir Did Not Comply.” Actually, if you use ze/zim/zhir, you probably did comply. And many people who lived in Massachusetts probably happily complied as well.
But if you lived in Massachusetts and had an Android phone, you didn’t need a hat, shirt, or sticker. Whether you complied or not, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health may have been keeping an eye on you during the great period in American History known as “5,000 Days to Slow the Spread” or something. The health department may have done so by working with Google to install tracking technology on Android phones without the users’ knowledge or, for that matter, their permission. The National Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) contends that the department teamed up with the tech giant to do just that and has filed a lawsuit.
The suit, Wright v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health, et al., alleges that the movements of one million Android users in the state were covertly tracked ostensibly to monitor COVID, starting June 15, 2021. The suit has nine counts on behalf of the plaintiffs, Robert Wright and Johnny Kula. Those counts include violations of the plaintiffs’ Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution as well as violations of Articles X and XIV of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights. NCLA provides an outline of the suit in the video below.