The Covid intervention no one is talking about

Perhaps more pernicious than those at the forefront of discussion

Those still talking about Covid and Covid counter-measures are generally focused on the widespread harm being caused by the shutdowns, as well as the short- and long-term disability and death caused by the shots; they are not vaccines:

Regarding the Covid "vaccines"

There is another heinous measure that was taken, which most Americans simply and surprisingly accepted without question, that is now pervasive and likely goes largely unnoticed - contact tracing. Somewhat early in the Covid outbreak, the federal government via the CDC, and many state governments, decided contact tracing would be a good idea.

This despite information from the WHO who, in a study on public health measures for pandemic influenza, states that contact tracing, like many other interventions, is not recommended in any circumstances and is only minimally effective, if at all:

https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329438/9789241516839-eng.pdf (3)

The study goes on to further discuss contact tracing:

Active contact tracing is not recommended in general because there is no obvious rationale for it in most Member States. This intervention could be considered in some locations and circumstances to collect information on the characteristics of the disease and to identify cases, or to delay widespread transmission in the very early stages of a pandemic in isolated communities (ibid, 15, 38).

No rationale. But…but… Well, what do they know anyway. That study said that masks don’t work; that contradicts the blessed Saint Fauci (never mind that the CDC also published in 2020 their own study saying the same about masks). Notice, if contact tracing works at all, it is at its most effective in the very early stages of the outbreak. By the time any of this could have been implemented here in the U.S., it was too late; as well, most communities in the U.S. are far too large for contact tracing to be effective. Nonetheless, Apple and Google were quick to add optional contact tracing “features” to their OS. Did anyone blink an eye? Do you know anyone who has not updated their phone operating system since the Covid outbreak? I guarantee, there are very few, especially since many apps require the updated operating systems, and people are quick to opt for convenience over privacy or security.

In May of 2020, I took a contact tracing class from Johns Hopkins. Based on the information in that course, I can tell you, contact tracing in the U.S. is problematic, not only for the reasons listed above, but from a privacy perspective and a Constitutional perspective. The WHO report, thankfully, is blatantly honest about some concerns:

There are a few ethical issues surrounding the implementation of contact tracing as an intervention. Also, contact identification of infected individuals brings about privacy concerns. Some individuals may perceive stigma and refuse to be contact traced (ibid, 38).

But there is another more dire concern:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution

This is a critical matter. We all know that big tech is tracking us with their apps and websites and vendors are selling our information, some even to the government. With this feature enabled, however, the government can track people directly. This is not being secure in our persons. This is basically warrantless tracking by government, being treated as criminals without committing crime. Further, though these features and apps claim to be optional and voluntary in nature, how easy would it be for the manufacturers to push an update that would make them mandatory. Even without overtly mandating the option, how is anyone to know it is not enabled anyway, even when a person elects to disable the option? The fact is, you don’t, and most people would not know how to determine whether a beacon is being broadcast. Based on the screens I’ve seen, beaconing isn’t enabled or disabled - only notifications and the ability of apps to use the beaconing information can be enabled or disabled.

There is another major constitutional issue for contact tracing:

No person shall be…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…

Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution

Contact tracing leads to quarantine of asymptomatic individuals, simply because they were potentially exposed to a virus. This is deprivation of liberty. There is no due process of law. It is simply deemed permissible because it is allegedly “for the public good.” You might think this is the worst that could happen, but you would be wrong.

How many people walk around with GPS and bluetooth always enabled on their phone? These are convenient. With GPS, you can quickly pull up Google maps and not only see your location but easily get turn-by-turn directions to go almost anywhere. With bluetooth enabled, you can talk hands-free through your earbuds, listen to music, control other devices, cast video to another screen. These are luxuries commonly consumed with little thought for any ill effects physically (there are debates as to the safety of bluetooth headphones/earbuds and their effect on the body/brain), nor for the privacy and security implications. How many times have you seen articles showing that, even with a phone supposedly powered off, your movements could be tracked on a map, even after the fact?

There are many ways to track phones that do not even require location services. An article from McAfee talks about cell tower triangulation and WiFi pinging (https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/tips-tricks/can-my-phone-be-tracked-if-location-services-are-off/). Then there is the ever-ubiquitous bluetooth. Many years ago, when I was working for Cisco Systems, they had developed technology for WiFi access points to use bluetooth beacons as a method for retailers to determine where and for how long customers lingered in their stores. This would allow the vendor to place and design end caps and displays to more readily entice buyers. This same almost-always-on technology is what powers technological contact tracing.

For contact tracing, phones send (supposedly) anonymous bluetooth beacons at regular intervals. Other phones in the area respond anonymously. However, in order for contact tracing to work, each phone has somehow to be identifiable. After all, if person A’s phone signal’s person B’s, and person A is infected with Covid, contact tracing requires calling or notifying person B that he or she has been exposed and needs to quarantine. “Ok, but why is this of concern to me?”

There are two major issues here:

1. All of this requires a central database, which means all of this data is being tracked by the government

2. The government can monitor with whom you are associating

Both of these blatantly violate the 4th Amendment, but the second is even more disconcerting. Those same bluetooth beacons that tell vendors where you are in their stores and for how long now tell public health officials around whom you’ve been, approximately how close you were, and for how long. So, you and five friends are gathered for a barbecue for 2 hours. Guess what? The government knows. They may not know that you were having a barbecue, but they know that the five of you were within 10 feet of each other for the better part of two hours. Now imagine one of those friends is well-known as someone who opposes the current political party in power (I don’t want anyone to think this could be limited to a single party). Suddenly, this could be a subversive gathering of malcontents who the government needs to monitor more closely. Or perhaps, as that person is a political opponent to the current regime, you are all now planning an insurrection and must be arrested!

This is how Stalin eliminated political opposition in his time. People who met with the wrong other people were disappeared. Why? Because Stalin presumed they opposed the current system and such opposition was unacceptable. Sound familiar? This kind of spying on the American people, that can be used for such sinister schemes, is terrifying. Yet it’s there on your phone as you read this. And it can’t be removed. What happens when, instead of being optional, the government decides it’s mandatory, and phone manufacturers simply turn it on in the OS?

I’ve given an extreme example, but it is not far fetched. When I took the class in 2020, China’s social credit system was already in place. Then, one of the first things that came to mind for me between the database and the tracking was the establishment of a similar system here in the U.S. Several governors unilaterally made decisions to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contact tracing software and personnel. A slew of apps were authored that could be installed on your phone to alert you to potential contact with an infected person. Then we saw, during all of the government malfeasance, attempts to implement Covid vaccine passports, including digital apps for vaccine records. China is now using such apps to quarantine citizens. Do you see how this all comes together? At some point, I may have to write an article on the contact tracing class itself to expose more of the detail; for now, consider yourself warned.

I’m not telling you to go throw your phone in a lake, jail break it and install a two-year-old operating system, or carry your phone in a faraday bag. I’m simply trying to open your eyes to what was done right under your nose with tacit assent, and even hearty approval, from most. Be aware. While it is still optional, disable the feature. Disable bluetooth when not in use. Turn off location services when not specifically in use. Exercise caution when permitting apps access to your information. Don’t allow your rights to be abused.

We all too commonly rail about government overreach, but then sit back and readily relinquish our rights in a radical revolution against our liberty, often without even considering what is happening or the ramifications thereof. We must stop prioritizing convenience over privacy and security. If we continue to choose ease over autonomy, the government will be all too happy to continue to trample our liberty. This is not how our forefathers founded nor envisioned this country, and a practice like contact tracing, while postured as a public good, is patently pernicious to the population.