The Rathenau Instituut supports the formation of public and political opinion on socially relevant aspects of science and technology. As a researcher of the institute on digitisation issues, I’ve been following the development of technology in response to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. My main interests lies in the way such technologies are discussed in the public and political realm, what (ethical) issues come up and what information informs decision making. This is why I am happy to join this forum to learn about possible (technical) insights that are overlooked in those debates. I’ll start with sharing a message to the Dutch parliament from our institute, and will share relevant publications from the network of European parliamentary technology assessment organisations in the future.
Message to Parliament
The corona crisis calls for careful action and democratic debate
In response to the announcement of two types of Corona apps, we sent a message to the Lower House of Parliament pointing at five considerations:
- Strengthen public health infrastructure
- Assess the use of corona apps in the context of public health: not as the core of the solution, but as a single policy option
- Take the time to examine the corona apps carefully, paying attention to all relevant aspects
- Build knowledge on the corona apps, and other policy options, to guide international and European policy development
- Act in such a way that citizens maintain confidence in the government’s approach in tackling the corona crisis
Short summary:
https://www.rathenau.nl/en/digital-society/corona-crisis-calls-careful-action-and-democratic-debate
Full message: