![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/New-York-launches-Covid-vaccine-passport-fight-back-feature-777x437-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
TECHNOCRACY<\/p>\n
On March 26, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0the state had partnered with IBM to launch\u00a0Excelsior Pass<\/a>, a digital health pass billed by state officials as part of New York\u2019s \u201csafe reopening\u201d plan.<\/p>\n The pass is designed to provide a \u201cfree, fast and secure\u201d way for New Yorkers to show proof of\u00a0COVID-19\u00a0<\/a>vaccination in order to gain entry to major sporting events, theatre and arts performances, concert halls and wedding venues.<\/p>\n Excelsior Pass is a free app that can be downloaded on phones. It allows users to display a QR code verifying either proof of COVID vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test result.<\/p>\n Venues use a companion app to scan the user\u2019s QR code which then generates either a green checkmark or a red X, depending on vaccination status or COVID test result. Users have to show a photo ID with their name and birth date to verify the pass belongs to them.<\/p>\n New Yorkers have the option to show alternate proof of vaccination or test results, for example, a different mobile application or paper form, to gain entrance to the business or venue. Upon entrance, users are still\u00a0required\u00a0<\/a>to maintain social distancing, abide by mask guidelines and use proper hand hygiene.<\/p>\n Initially designed to allow entry to major venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City, Times Union Center in Albany and other large venues for weddings, concerts and special events, the pass was later expanded for use at smaller arts, entertainment and event venues throughout the state.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time IBM\u2019s technology has played a key role in identifying and segregating people based on their health information.<\/p>\n The New York Times best-selling book by Edwin Black, \u201cIBM and the Holocaust<\/a>,\u201d details the chilling role IBM\u2019s past president, Thomas J. Watson, played while serving the Third Reich for 12 years.<\/p>\n According to Black, IBM was intimately involved in providing the punch cards and tabulating machines that helped Adolf Hitler carry out his ultimate plan. While this is not a well-known aspect of IBM\u2019s history, the company has never denied any of the facts outlined in Black\u2019s book. The book\u00a0 details evidence based on more than 20,000 documents from seven countries, including internal IBM correspondence, memos from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Justice, and from concentration camps.<\/p>\n Black\u2019s book chronicles how IBM played a pivotal role in the Holocaust, in not only the identification and tabulation of Jews, but also their expulsion from society, including the confiscation of their property, ghettoization, deportation and ultimately their extermination.<\/p>\n IBM used its\u00a0Digital Health Pass technology<\/a>, which is part of the tech company\u2019s\u00a0Watson Works<\/a>, to develop the Excelsior Pass. The pass is built on IBM\u2019s own blockchain technology, allowing organizations and businesses to verify health credentials of individuals, employees, customers and other end users based on predetermined criteria specified by an organization, state or business.<\/p>\n IBM claims privacy is central and the data is secured and verifiable. The company also says the encrypted information is protected on the user\u2019s digital wallet, and the user has \u201ccomplete control\u201d over how and with whom they share the information.<\/p>\n But how is sharing personal health data with\u00a0Big Tech<\/a>\u00a0considered private? If someone is refused entrance to the workplace, a business or venue based on the Excelsior Pass, the person\u2019s status would become known to colleagues at work, or strangers nearby at a social venue.<\/p>\n And what will IBM do with this data? How do we know IBM won\u2019t turn over the data to government officials or sell it to other entities?<\/p>\n Requiring proof of a vaccine or a negative test result is a violation of fundamental human rights and promotes segregation based on unproven and\u00a0experimental<\/a>\u00a0medical interventions. Let\u2019s evaluate a few key factors:<\/p>\n Once Excelsior Pass rolls out, it will likely expand to include more businesses throughout New York and could expand to more states. Will New Yorkers be forced to show their Excelsior Pass to shop at their local groceries stores? Will New York follow in the\u00a0footsteps<\/a>\u00a0of Los Angeles by mandating the COVID vaccine and use of a\u00a0tracking app<\/a>\u00a0to attend school?<\/p>\n This appears to be a quid pro quo among\u00a0Big Tech<\/a>,\u00a0Big Pharma<\/a>\u00a0and government that likely will lead to the commercialization of personal health data \u2014 and it could easily expand to other vaccine requirements in the future.<\/p>\n Many people are not aware of the\u00a0Healthy People 2030 agenda<\/a>, which ultimately will include an aggressive\u00a0adult vaccine catch-up schedule<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to see how state government officials and businesses could easily add other vaccines to the Excelsior Pass for children and adults as necessary criteria for entry. This could lead to a systematic threat to our right to travel freely and could interfere with the ability to earn a living and conduct commerce.<\/p>\nHow does Excelsior Pass work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
IBM has history of collecting personal data<\/strong><\/h3>\n
How will IBM\u2019s role differ this time?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Data security concerns, human rights infringement<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Slippery slope<\/strong><\/h3>\n