Netanyahu advises ministers to find a way to force Israelis to download phone tracking app

Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed Ministers Jeev Elkin (Minister of Higher Education and Water Resources) and Yishar Shai (Minister of Science and Technology) to develop a plan to help the government force citizens to download and use the Health Ministry’s Megan 2 surveillance phone. Application. Netanyahu asked ministers to ensure that the government can force all Israelis who want to enter a mall, shopping center or workplace to download and use an application aimed at reducing the spread of the corona virus.

Netanyahu asked the two ministers who have been working to find a solution to the problem for the past few months so that the authorities can see the contacts of the people and monitor the outbreak if anyone is infected with the virus. With this method, Netanyahu hopes to change the secret service, constantly monitoring everyone’s phones and texting them if there is a person who is prone to the virus.

Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said at a recent Corona cabinet meeting that the application was working, but could not function properly if people did not download and use it. “I stop using digital technology to track viruses. It has not been successful in any country that has tried. In addition, legislating a solution is also ineffective. The past months have proved that the public does not agree. ”

The use of the Megan 2 phone is considered to be more accurate than the secret service’s phone tracking technologies. But so far, only 1 million Israelis have downloaded it, and most of those who downloaded it have destroyed it. “The application does not send any information to the authorities so that when a person receives a warning that they may have been exposed they can ignore it without any consequences.”

Isher Shay said: “We need to convince people that the ‘big brother’ is not monitoring their movements and that they are not interested in doing so to download the app. Is interested in maintaining their purple safety position in the workplace and protecting the health of its workers. We will look at the positive offers that individuals and employers can offer by downloading and using the app. In addition, we need to think about the 500,000 phone owners who have cell phones without smartphones, most of them serious Orthodox Jews. Government employees who have provided phones from their employers, including police officers and soldiers, may subject employers to the phone in downloading the application. ”

(YWN Israel Table – Jerusalem)