Conrad was responding to a letter sent by senators in March asking Google about how it will protect and secure the data of those who use Verily's coronavirus screening site. Sens. Bob Menendez, Richard Blumenthal, Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown and Kamala Harris wrote the letter asking both Vice President Mike Pence and Alphabet Chief Sundar Pichai if users will have to hand over their data to use the site, and whether or not the tech giant will be forbidden from selling such information or utilizing it for their own gain in some way.
In response, Conrad says Verily will not use user data for any other purposes besides those outlined in the project, and will abide by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in other states as well. At the same time, Conrad defended how the company makes users sign in through a Google account, something senators also criticized. Conrad explained that using another way to authenticate users would have compromised their security.
Verily's coronavirus screening site, which was launched last month, connects individuals with local testing sites. It uses a COVID-19 screener survey through Project Baseline to ask adults questions about recent travel activities and their health; those deemed high-risk are then directed to a mobile testing site, where they receive their results.