The Thai Chana App Everything You Need To Know

THE THAI CHANA PLATFORM APP EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
01/07/2020

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) in its latest decree mandates its use to check in and out at all pubs, bars, karaoke joints, beer halls and other entertainment venues as well as at soapy massage parlours.

Pubs, bars and karaoke shops can now resume operations, However, the CCSA resolved that they can operate until midnight, with close supervision and stringent measures in place.

Game shops and internet cafes can also resume businesses. Massage parlors can reopen as well, under new safety guidelines but they have to strictly observe all precautionary measures.

Owners of these establishments will be penalized with huge fines and permanent closure if their businesses are found to ignore any of the new strict measures.

One of the new strict measures is all businesses and activities must register with the government’s Thai Chana online platform for customers checking in and out of the premises. Officers will be deployed to assess their operations. The officers have a permit to use a mobile application to make sure that Thai Chana is being properly utilized.

The Thai Chana app was developed by the information technology team of Krung Thai bank and has been strongly touted by the government as a national tool to track and notify people who might have been exposed to the coronavirus. During the initial phase of the lockdown, malls and restaurants were told to enforce use of Thai Chana as well as insisting on face masks and body temperature checks for all.

On Sunday 17 May, Thailand got its first taste of the “new normal” with the Thai Chana ("Thailand Wins") application, run by Krungthai Bank (KTB).

Entering a shopping mall, you had to scan the QR (quick response) code to check-in and check-out. Why? So the government can obtain your personal data in order to keep track of you, in the interests of containing the spread of COVID-19.

However, recent weeks have witnessed a general slackening of the rules and even indifference in places. Concerns have also been raised it’s at a loss where privacy is concerned and fake app versions containing malware doing the rounds on the internet. Furthermore, the QR code for check-in/out is problematic. Not to mention, using phone numbers for contract tracing isn’t exactly reliable.

HOW THE THAI CHANA APP WORKS / PRIVACY:

When you scan the QR code that leads to:

www.ไทยชนะ.com

www.thaichana.com

for the first time, the website shows you a user agreement form.

The form asks for your consent in sending our registration data to the Public Health Ministry, which consists of your phone number, check-in/out location and time spent at the location.

The catch is, it doesn’t really tell you everything about how your data can be used. For that, you would need to read the terms and conditions for registration of merchants to Thai Chana.

The T&Cs state that customer data may be sent to any organization authorized by the Ministry of Public Health. Apart from using the collected data to prevent and contain COVID-19, it can also be used for “public interests,” even after disease control measures cease to be in effect.

Both points raise red flag in regards to your right to privacy. It essentially gives the state a blank check to use your data in any way it sees fit, providing that it’s for “public interests”.

There is currently no legislation to prevent your personal data from being “misused”; nor are data handlers accountable for breach of privacy. The right to privacy of citizens should be protected, even in time of crisis. For example, Australia has a drafted legislation for their contact tracing app. But for Thailand, all you have to go by is the “trust” you put in the government not to “misuse” your private data.

China's tracking app for another example, includes a social credit system an ambitious initiative to build a database that monitors individual, corporate, and government behavior across the country in real time. According to the Chinese Communist Party, the system will use big data to build a high-trust society where individuals and organizations follow the law and those that don't are penalized accordingly.

Above: Mall shoppers tracked with Government mobile app.

HOW THE THAI CHANA APP WORKS /USABILITY:

Thai Chana’s design is clearly aimed to be user-friendly.

When entering a store, you just need to “check-in” by scanning a QR code, like you would do adding friends in Line Chat. When we exit, do the same to “check-out.”

The problem is, when entering a shopping mall, you have to do this over and over again. First when you enter the mall. Then when you enter a store. Then again when you enter a restaurant. And so on.

Long queues are the result. Not to mention social distancing becomes an issue.

For people without a smartphone, there was no other choice but to register by pen and paper but this will no longer be an option anymore NO APP NO ENTRY . Longer queues. Longer delays. Not so much social distancing.

The problem can be alleviated by reducing mandatory check-in to only at the main entrance of shopping malls/ entertainment venues. There’s no need to check-in at every store or ba, unless the government fears there’s a good chance of someone catching COVID-19 on the way from the main entrance into a store, and into another store, then into another store. And so on.

HOW THE THAI CHANA APP WORKS /RELIABILITY

Last, but not least, when we register on the website for the first time, it will ask for our phone number, which is linked to our ID or passport number. This way, the app can identify who you are and keep track of you. Problem: What if some people don’t give their real phone numbers? Unless you are someone who wholeheartedly trusts the government with your private data,a lot of people would just punch in fake numbers.This issue could be resolved with a call back verification wih a pin number in the sign up process.

NO APP NO ENTRY

Privacy concerns about the Thai Chana platform denied by the Krung Thai bank and fake versios of the app containg malware doing the rounds on the internet, the option for the user of keeping a log of places visited was discontinued after the initial pilot precisely to avoid accusations of potential spying by the app providers. But the imminent reopening of bars and clubs has again given the Thai Chana app a high profile in the government’s campaign to prevent a second wave of the Covid-19 virus. No app no entry.

Several Pattaya-based entertainment venue gurus have already indicated that many clubs may not reopen as the 22 CCSA rules governing behavior and protocol inside premises are inconsistent with customer expectations. For some, the app could be the last straw.

MENZZOO MAGAZINE
01/07/2020

MENZZOO MAGAZINE

The Thai Chana Contact Tracing App Everything You Need To Know

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