Thousands of people do not know DPH’s Covid-19 tracking app is on their phone, as it does not appear on their home screens like other apps.
NCLA client Robert Wright, who commutes to Massachusetts for work, was appalled to learn that the government put an app on his phone without his knowledge, especially one that could constantly track his movements.
NCLA’s lawsuit argues the DPH app’s automatic installation infringes on the Fourth Amendment right to privacy because it interferes with phone owners’ private property and collects information about them.
By taking up storage space on phones against their owners’ will, such unwanted installations also constitute uncompensated taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment.