How Contact Tracing Was Silently Forced on Millions Without Consent

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“As we embrace our new normal, MassNotify is a voluntary, free tool to provide additional peace of mind to residents as they return to doing the things they love.”

—MA Governor Charlie Baker

In the summer of 2021, Massachusetts residents saw a notification on their phones prompting them to update a COVID-19 contact tracing application. Only one problem - they had never installed one. How did the app get on their phone without them knowing and without their consent?

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In April 2021, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) launched its first contact tracing app, developed entirely in-house. Despite the “urgency” of the pandemic, the app gained minimal traction, attracting fewer than 5,000 users and garnering only 50 reviews—a clear indication of public disinterest.

Facing this setback, they collaborated with Google to build the next version leveraging their Exposure Notifications platform, or the first digital contact tracing platform. We covered in depth how GAEN works in the last article, and how it is utterly unreliable to actually calculate how close you are to someone.

The new app, MassNotify, launched on June 15th, 2021. The platform promised easier deployment for states, requiring only basic configuration rather than full app development. Google and Apple approached the public health departments from multiple states, offering to develop the apps "free of charge". This was referenced in a letter to the Governor of California by state assembly members, which warned that "products or services offered for ‘free’ are paid for through the surrender of sensitive personal information."

However, what happened next was unprecedented in American public health initiatives.

The Silent Rollout

On June 19th, reports began flooding in: MassNotify had appeared on phones across Massachusetts without any user notification or consent. Even more concerning, the app was hidden from the typical app drawer, discoverable only by diving deep into device settings. Users who managed to uninstall it reported that the app would mysteriously reinstall itself. Google confirmed in a comment they "…automatically distributed" the app.

Technical Capabilities Exposed

This incident revealed Google's extensive control over Android devices. Through Google Services, the company demonstrated abilities that many users found disturbing:

1. Remote Installation: The power to deploy applications to specific geographical areas without user intervention

2. Sensor Control: The ability to activate device components, like Bluetooth, remotely

3. System Access: Complete access to device logs containing personal identifiers

4. Persistent Control: The capability to override user attempts to remove applications

5. Location Tracking: The ability to monitor user movements through Bluetooth interactions and location data

Privacy Implications

The contact tracing system generated "Rolling Proximity Identifiers" (RPIs) every 15 minutes, broadcasting them through Bluetooth. These identifiers, combined with system logs accessible to Google services, created a comprehensive data collection system that could track:

• Individual device movements

• Personal interactions through Bluetooth proximity

• User identification through device logs

• Historical location data

Privileged apps such as Google apps, Google Services, and MassNotify can use the READ_LOGS permissions to read the system logs, which contain other information such as the phone's MAC address, email, phone name, and other information that can uniquely identify the person.

Legal Challenge and Constitutional Questions

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) filed a class-action lawsuit in November 2022 (Wright v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health), representing approximately one million affected residents. The suit argues that the DPH violated constitutional rights by installing surveillance software without consent or warrant.

As NCLA Litigation Counsel Sheng Li noted:

"The government may not secretly install surveillance devices on your personal property without a warrant—even for a laudable purpose."

The case cites Fourth Amendment violations and draws parallels to significant privacy precedents like Carpenter v. United States.

This incident serves as a crucial warning about invasive power grabs from public health initiatives, Big Tech, and the increasing erosion of our personal privacy. While contact tracing played a vital role in pandemic response, the manner of MassNotify's deployment raises serious questions about government overreach and corporate control over personal devices.

As we continue to navigate inevitable future pandemics, maintaining transparency and user consent must remain paramount in technological solutions.

Eradicating Contact Tracing Surveillance

Because Google and Apple can bundle these contract tracing services within their larger software service suite, the only way to prevent tracking is to withdraw completely.

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Pt 1 - How Contact Tracing Apps Sold Out Your Privacy

https://vigilantfox.news/p/how-contact-tracing-apps-sold-out

Baker-Polito Administration Launches MassNotify, A New Voluntary Tool to Enhance COVID-19 Exposure Awareness

https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/News/2021/06/MassNotify

With ‘Exposure Notifications Express,’ Google is creating COVID-19 Android apps for health agencies

https://9to5google.com/2020/09/01/exposure-notifications-express/

Legislature letter to governor on TACT

https://www.eff.org/document/legislature-letter-governor-tact

Summary of Android Manifest Permission

https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission#READ_LOGS

Wright v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health

https://nclalegal.org/case/robert-wright-and-johnny-kula-v-massachusetts-department-of-public-health-a-massachusetts-agency-and-margaret-r-cooke-commissioner-of-the-massachusetts-department-of-public-health-in-her-officia/

CARPENTER v. UNITED STATES

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/16-402