Global Perspectives

Component 2: Individual Report

Centre name: Sekolah Pelita Harapan Pluit Village

Centre number: ID 242

Candidate name: Fabian Howen Surya

Candidate number:

Topic: Digital World

Research Question: Are digital passports justified?

Word Count: 1999

until the COVID-19 pandemic. The way the EU has implemented these passports is by making

sure the person requesting the certificate has been vaccinated, recently had a negative Covid test

or recently recovered from the virus (BBC). The digital passport has certainly helped through

this tough time, it has sped up the process of increasing immunity to this virus, but that is not all

it brings. It has fundamental issues that are difficult to solve, those of which include false

information, corruption of power, breach of privacy, and more. Many have suffered the

consequences of ignorance on this subject, they have been condemned when there was no issue

with their medical wellbeing, and it has caused them to argue that digital passport usage will

inevitably lead to discrimination, corruption, and oppression (Chakrabarti), whilst others

question our survival without this implementation.

This paper will evaluate in depth the benefits and consequences of the implementation of

digital passports, and the changes that either occurred or will occur regarding the implementation

or removal of digital passports. This paper also includes the global perspectives of the United

States, the EU, and the United Nations and the national Indonesian perspective. It will discuss

the outcomes of certain actions taken regarding this implementation, and a suggestion of what

action should be taken.

Uses of Digital Passports

As mentioned earlier, digital/COVID-19 passports are used to spread information on

other people’s wellbeing and their immunity to the virus, more specifically their vaccination

status or their recent test results, to help contain the virus further. Those with passports that show
that they either tested positive or are not vaccinated might be asked to stay indoors for up to two

weeks. The details vary from country to country, in the UK, it comes in the form of an NHS

Covid Pass, and one of its uses is while travelling, to either gain entry or avoid quarantine after

returning from a country outside the UK by verifying vaccination status and/or recent test results

(BBC). In some states of the US, only health workers are required to show their weekly negative

COVID-19 test or fully vaccinated status (Mitchell). This verification is often shown digitally,

and, in addition to travel, is used to enable access to large-scale gatherings, such as concerts,

sport events, etc. to minimize mass-infection (BBC). An additional use is to update the

government’s database on the population, to gather information about the health of the

population (Mitchell).

Consequences of Digital Passports

Of course, all the benefits to digital passports can be used against themselves, as systems

and governments are not built to perfection. An example of a consequence is when the

convenience of digital passports is used by those corrupt to change existing records to what is

most beneficial for them. A case where this is pertinent is in China, where people planning to

protest a bank in Henan, as they have frozen $178 million for two months, were shut down when

their digital passports changed to prohibit them from travelling to Henan by turning up “red,”

indicating they were exposed to COVID-19 to travel (Tham). Another reason for this abuse of

power is discrimination, where a person might have their vaccination/test results altered or

denied flexibility on unusual circumstances because of their ethnicity, gender, etc.

Discrimination is not special to digital passports; this exploitation can occur in any form of ID

verification (Tran). The reverse of this consequence is also likely to occur, where the citizen

takes advantage of the digital passport and creates fraudulent records for their own personal gain.
One of the several reasons for this is convenience, where vaccination or a regular COVID-19 test

is either not possible or too inconvenient, so it causes some to resort to creating a false

result/record. This can also be very easily achieved, as a vaccination verification is a hand-

written card that requires no elaboration, and that result will be put into the system indefinitely

(Smith).

Global Perspective

The United States is divided on this issue, as ten states implement digital passports, and

twenty states ban them. The twenty states that have banned this practice have provided reasons

for this ban, and some of those reasons include the breach of privacy or the right to refuse to

vaccinate (Bardosh et al.). Some states even punish the use of digital passports, an example of

this is Florida, where they fine $5,000 USD to any institution requesting a vaccine passport

(Mitchell). In the EU, digital passports are implemented everywhere, and those who do not

comply do not receive the benefits that come with digital passports, which include avoiding

quarantine when travelling (EU). The United Nations have also recognized that vaccination rate

should increase globally, and they plan to track this rate by implementing digital passports (UN).

National Perspective

Indonesia has implemented digital passports in the form of an app, named

PeduliLindungi. This application tracks one’s vaccination records and recent test results, and if

the user is either fully vaccinated or recently tested negative for COVID-19, they will have a

“green” status, meaning there is no danger of the user spreading the virus. This status is used to

grant access for people to enter public spaces, by requiring users to scan a QR code every

instance they enter a public space (PeduliLindungi). This scanning enables the government to
track each citizen’s location as they are informed where any citizen was and when. The

application has caused it to be more difficult for those dangerous to spread the virus and has been

shown to reduce COVID-19 cases since its release. This application is very easily bypassed,

either by avoiding scanning the QR codes, or by submitting false information to be displayed on

your profile, to appear “green.” This is caused by poor security and corruption, as corrupted

people working in the government can provide a “green” status in exchange for money and those

hired to enforce the QR code-scanning do not do their job as intended, they simply ignore those

who choose not to obey directions and scan.

Reasons for Digital Passports

Digital passports are a very essential tool for modern living, where one can attend an

event filled with people without worrying about their or others’ health. Digital passports

incentivize people to vaccinate, by bringing enough benefits along with it and consequences that

come with neglecting it. This incentivization then builds the overall resistance to COVID-19's

current variants, which gets us closer to our previous way of life. The freedom the digital

passport offers causes economic and cultural aspects to thrive once again, as the once closed jobs

re-open, and society begins to function again (Thomas & Flood). The increased vaccination rate

will also decrease COVID-19 cases, and the needed verification to enter public spaces will

decrease the cases even further. This visible cause and effect will also build confidence in

vaccinations, and overall vaccination rate, not only for COVID-19, will increase along with it.

Reasons against Digital Passports

There is an argument made that the implementation of digital passports is a violation of

two human rights, the right to private/family life and the right to belief/opinion. Article 8 states
that personal information should be kept secure and not be shared or used without permission,

and that a person has a right for them and their family to have proper health (UN), but it also

states that, in unusual circumstances, that privileged information can be used without permission.

Now, the debate is whether the pandemic fits under “special circumstances,” and if the right to

proper family health is broken when the vaccine, which is now made mandatory, gives side-

effects, sometimes harsh ones (BIHR). The information about the side effects is given to the

public, and there is an argument on the compulsory vaccine and if a person should be able to

refuse the vaccine for them and their family, because of the side effects or for another reason.

The mandatory vaccine also breaks the right to autonomy over medical decisions, which is part

of what is mentioned before.

Course of Action

The benefits and consequences previously acknowledged have provided the means to

change, to change the currently implemented digital passport system to something more suitable

to the current situation. The action that should be taken first is vaccination, that vaccination rates

should increase drastically and most of the population should be vaccinated. This will further

build the resistance the population has against COVID-19, although one consequence might be

that this would create fertile ground for vaccine-resistant variants to grow (Chakrabarti). To

solve the issue mentioned earlier about poor security, this vaccination rate will then be verified

by something more reliable than a hand-written card; it should be inputted into a system by both

a certified doctor and a certified lab, to increase the reliability of the verifications. So, instead of

giving benefits to those vaccinated, it is now giving consequences to those who are not, and this

is not a violation of the human right to autonomy over medical decisions, as denying those

unvaccinated from certain benefits is not a violation of this. This change in how digital passports
is viewed will also decrease the abuses of power from occurring, as the power the digital

passport held is now taken away.

Source Evaluation

The sources used, except for one, were all recently published, as this is a very recent

issue that needs addressing. A fair number of sources collected contained little to no bias, as their

purpose was to either list or bring together arguments from both sides of the debate on digital

passports. Some of the sources used in the "arguments against” paragraph were in favor of one

side, the negative side. These sources include the BMJ and the BIHR, where they list the

consequences of digital passports without finding benefits that counter the ones listed. Another

source with bias is the “thestar” source, which has bias to the positive side, as it lists all the

benefits as well as the counters to the negative arguments. Some sources chosen came straight

from a verified organization or government, as the information they provided was needed to

clearly explain my points about digital passports. These sources proved most effective as the

reliability and relevance of these sources were those most in favor of this topic. thers came from

news sites, where they reported on relevant events that happened because of digital passports or

opinions backed up with facts, such as the ones reporting Chinese incidents with corruption or

the ones debating digital passport implementation.

Personal Perspective and Conclusion

This paper has little to no bias to either side, as my opinions were fluctuating throughout

writing. At first, I was strongly biased for digital passports, as they were a logical invention to

contain the COVID-19 virus, but as I was reading more about the consequences, I questioned my

beliefs and considered that eliminating digital passports might better protect the citizens, but in
the end, my first beliefs were verified and now I see that digital passports are justified, as they

save lives and have benefits that outweigh the consequences. An example of a benefit

outweighing a consequence is the benefit of vaccination. Vaccination provides all with further

protection, and the consequence to this is that the right to autonomy over medical decisions

might be broken. This benefit not only outweighs the consequence significantly, as security, in

my opinion, is more important than freedom, but the consequence is also disproved under the

circumstances the course of action provides. I think that action must be taken, as the

consequences can be severe, and it can ruin one’s life if not taken with precaution. For example,

the abuses of power should not go unnoticed, as it can very easily ruin one’s life if not stopped.

This paper has successfully evaluated both the negative and positive perspectives on the

digital passport implementation, as shown by the benefits, consequences, reasons for and against

paragraphs.
Sources

European Commission. (2022, October 20). EU Digital covid certificate. European Commission.
Retrieved October 21, 2022, from
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europeans/eu-digital-covid-certificate_en
Martin, G. (2021, April 28). Vaccine passports: Are they legal-or even a good idea? UC
Berkeley Public Health. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from
https://publichealth.berkeley.edu/covid-19/vaccine-passports-are-they-legal-or-even-a-
good-idea/
Chakrabarti, S. (2021, July 24). It's time for a serious debate about vaccine passports | Shami
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freedoms-covid
Bloomberg, Chang, R., & Luo, J. (2022, June 15). Chinese protesters accuse city of abusing
Covid Health code app. Fortune. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from
https://fortune.com/2022/06/15/china-protesters-covid-health-code-government-abuse/
BBC. (2021, July 26). Covid passports: How do they work around the world? BBC News.
Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56522408
Mitchell, H. (2021, September 17). Vaccine passports: 10 states with Digital Credentials & 20
states with bans. Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from
https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-health/vaccine-passports-7-states-with-
digital-credentials-21-states-with-bans.html
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S., Graham, J. E., & Baral, S. (2022, May 1). The unintended consequences of covid-19
vaccine policy: Why mandates, passports and restrictions may cause more harm than
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Tham, E. (2022, June 16). China Bank protest stopped by Health Codes Turning Red, depositors
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red-depositors-say-2022-06-14/
Tran, M. (2007, May 21). MPs raise fears of discrimination over ID cards. The Guardian.
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PeduliLindungi. (2022, August 8). Privacy Policy. PeduliLindungi. Retrieved October 30, 2022,
from https://www.pedulilindungi.id/kebijakan-privasi-data?lang=en
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