Department of Health official critical of academic paper that highlighted sharing of personal information through Covid-19 app

A Department of Health official strongly criticised an academic paper that had drawn attention to privacy concerns around the HSE’s Covid-19 tracking app.

In an email, a senior official said the paper was “journalistic in much of its narrative” around how the app was sharing personal information.

“It is incorrect on certain key points and and it is unclear how and whether it has been peer-reviewed,” said the message.

However, records released under FOI show the HSE were happy to work with the authors of the paper to address some of the privacy concerns that had been raised around the app.

You can see more in the response below: