How to fairly incentivise digital contact tracing

J Med Ethics. 2020 Jul 9:medethics-2020-106388. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106388. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Digital apps using Bluetooth to log proximity events (henceforth, digital contact tracing) are increasingly supported by technologists and governments. By and large, the public debate on this matter focuses on privacy, with experts from both law and technology offering very concrete proposals and participating to a lively debate. Far less attention is paid to effective incentives and their fairness. This paper aims to fill this gap by offering a practical, workable solution for a promising incentive, justified by the ethical principles of non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy and justice. This incentive is a free phone optimised for running such app.

Keywords: distributive justice; epidemiology; public health ethics; public policy; technology/risk assessment.