The Covid-19 App Serving Adverts From Samantha Cameron’s Cefinn Label Sets A Dangerous Precedent

On Saturday, I was mindlessly scrolling through my inbox when I did a double take over an email from the Covid Symptom Study with King’s College London, which I signed up to months ago.

Alongside a picture of Samantha Cameron modelling one of her fashion label Cefinn’s £25 face masks, it said: ‘We are proud to announce that we have partnered with womenswear brand Cefinn to bring you a collection of beautiful limited edition silk face coverings. 100% of sales from the sale of Cefinn masks will go toward funding the groundbreaking research that is being conducted at King's College London to understand the long-term effects of COVID-19.’

I was confused. I downloaded the Covid-19 Symptom Study app - which is run by health science company Zoe and shares the data it collects with King’s College London - to report my own health and do my bit to help with their Covid-19 research. The app tracks coronavirus symptoms as part of its investigation. What did Samantha Cameron’s fashion label have to do with this? We have reached out to Cefinn for comment.

I thought it would be one of the few safe spaces where I could hand over my data without running the risk of being bombarded by ads flogging a product. In this case, the label they are promoting have released a new capsule collection of face coverings in support of the study.

With 100% of proceeds going towards scientific research, at least Sam Cam isn’t directly profiting, but it doesn’t sit right that the label of the former prime minister's wife is being given free advertising and a shout out she’ll surely benefit from.

This could also make a population already wary of handing over their data even more nervous when it comes to downloading government or science reseach apps, which in turn could end up ruining our chances of returning to normality anytime soon. Many believe the government’s ‘NHS’ tracking app could be vital when it comes to managing the spread of coronavirus, but can we blame people for not wanting this technology on their phones?

After watching Netflix’s The Social Dilemma, the last thing we need is more proof that our trust (and data) is being abused. The Government’s recent Excel spreadsheet mess up didn’t help quell the fears of people worried about the competence of those we are handing our data over to either. Blips like this just erode our trust even further.

I clearly wasn’t alone in feeling confused and uncomfortable. By Monday, there was a follow up email; an apology from Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London, who is leading the research, who admitted it ‘wasn’t the right thing to do’.

‘We thought selling donated masks for charity would be a good opportunity to raise money for long COVID research,’ the email read. ‘However, we did not consider the implications of working with a commercial company. I want to personally apologise for this, and assure you that all of us here at the COVID Symptom Study will learn from this experience. Without you, our loyal contributors, none of our scientific discoveries or hotspot detection would be possible. We are incredibly grateful for your commitment.

Coronavirus 2020

We also want to reassure you that we haven’t shared your personal details with any commercial companies, and we never will. This email was, as always, sent by ZOE, the healthcare company behind the app.’

The ‘apology’ angered some even more, with Twitter user Margaret O’Hara writing: ‘I wasn’t ‘offended’ @Join_ZOE It’s not about offence. You abused my trust and if you misinterpret this as ‘offence’ that can be dealt with by a ‘sorry if you were offended’ statement then you’re even further from getting my trust back. Pls do some long overdue patient involvement.’

I want to believe we can trust them, that this is tech for good and by signing up to these apps we’re doing our bit to beat the virus and make the world a better place. I hope this doesn't end up being the last straw for some people and see them delete the app, but I’d understand if they do. Instead, let’s hope it’s the last time an app like this links its unsuspecting participants directly to a fashion label.