Joint Statement on Technical, legal, ethical and implementation concerns regarding Aarogya Setu and other apps introduced during COVID-19 in India by Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), Forum for Medical Ethics Society (FMES), and All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN)

We, the four signatory networks of organizations of public health advocates, experts in digital privacy, science and technology policy advocates and other stakeholders issue this Statement for generating public understanding and for submission to the Government of India (GoI) and concerned Union Ministries – Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEIT), and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) – about our deep concerns regarding the Aarogya Setu (AS) and other similar Apps related to the novel Corona virus epidemic. We are deeply concerned about violation of privacy, and compromised ethical principles and values, due to the AS App‟s design, its deployment, related policies regarding data storage, preservation of privacy and data sharing, as well as overall policy implementation and inadequate legal frameworks for data protection and grievance redressal for users.