Legal Provisions and Safeguards in Using TraceTogether Data

15 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Home Affairs whether TraceTogether data will be used for criminal investigations and, if so, what are the legal provisions and safeguards in using such data.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Mr Desmond Tan) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Mr Speaker, the Singapore Police Force is empowered under the Criminal Procedure Code or CPC to obtain any data, including TraceTogether or TT data, for criminal investigations.

The Government is the custodian of the TT data submitted by individuals, and stringent measures are in place to safeguard this personal data. Examples of these measures include only allowing authorised officers to access the data, using such data only for authorised purposes and storing the data on a secured data platform. Under the Public Sector (Governance) Act, public officers who recklessly or knowingly disclose the data without authorisation or misuse the data may be liable to a fine of up to $5,000 or imprisonment of up to two years, or both.

Mr Speaker: Mr Christopher de Souza.

Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah): Sir, I thank the Minister of State for his response. In an investigation, there are suspects and there are witnesses. So, in the event that the TraceTogether information is used of a witness, would there be a possibility of deletion of this information, by virtue of its private nature, if the investigation does not yield anything or the investigation comes to a close? I am wanting to draw a distinction between the suspect and a witness.

Mr Desmond Tan: Data will only be taken from the individual. In a criminal case where there is a suspect and a witness, we will extract the data from the witness. However, for individuals who are suspects or are under investigation, the data will not be extracted from them, for the purpose of security.

Mr Speaker: Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): Sir, we all know that effective contact tracing is key to containing the spread of COVID-19 and that the more people use TraceTogether, the better. We should always be looking for ways to remove the impediments to voluntary adoption of the TraceTogether app. So, if people suspect that their TraceTogether data is being used for anything other than for contact tracing, would this not lead to a lower than expected adoption rate?

And I am sure that the Minister of State is aware that users can prevent the app from being used, for example exchanging proximity information, even if they have it installed. So, my question is, now that the Government has said that they might actually use the TraceTogether data for Police investigations, does this not violate the TraceTogether privacy statement, which says that any data shared with MOH will only be used solely for contact tracing of persons possibly exposed to COVID-19?

Mr Desmond Tan: I thank the Member for the question. TraceTogether is conceived and implemented for the purpose of contact tracing and for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

We do not preclude the use of TraceTogether data in circumstances where citizens' safety and security are or have been affected. This applies to all other data as well. Authorised police officers may invoke the Criminal Procedural Code, as I had mentioned earlier, to obtain this data for the purpose of criminal investigation and for the purpose of protecting the safety and security of our citizens.

But otherwise, TraceTogether data is indeed to be used only for contact tracing and for the purpose of fighting the COVID-19 situation.