German minister says tracking apps to tackle coronavirus must be voluntary March 31, 2020 https://in.reuters.com/article/heal...e-coronavirus-must-be-voluntary-idINKBN21I0L5
Covid-19 Poll Results: One in Four Prioritize Health Over Privacy https://threatpost.com/covid-19-poll-results-one-in-four-prioritize-health-over-privacy/
Australian state will install home surveillance hardware to make sure if you're in virus isolation, you stay there https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/04/01/west_australia_isolation/
"[UK] Govt set to release 'contact tracking' app which detects nearby virus carriers The [UK] government is preparing to release an app which alerts people if they come too close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19... The contact tracking app, which will operate on an opt-in basis, will be released either just before or just after the lockdown is lifted, according to several people with close knowledge of the project. NHS bosses hope the app will attract more than 50% of the population, as large numbers of people using it together will be necessary for it to work effectively..." https://news.sky.com/story/coronavi...-which-detects-nearby-virus-carriers-11966243
"Mass school closures in the wake of the coronavirus are driving a new wave of student surveillance Colleges are racing to sign deals with ‘online proctor’ companies that watch students through their webcams while they take exams... “Online proctor” services like these have already policed millions of American college exams, tapping into students’ cameras, microphones and computer screens when they take their tests at home... They watch the students’ faces, listen to them talk and can demand they aim their cameras around the room to prove their honesty. Some companies also use facial-recognition, eye-tracking and other software that purports to detect cheating and rates the students’ “academic integrity.” ...Looking off-screen for too long, for instance, can raise a test-taker’s “suspicion” score, potentially leading them to fail the exam..." https://www.washingtonpost.com/tech...=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
COVID-19 contact tracing apps: Eight privacy questions governments should ask https://techxplore.com/news/2020-04-covid-contact-apps-privacy.html
Coronavirus: NSO Offers Covid-19 Tracking Software https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/surveillance/coronavirus-nso-covid-19-tracking-338307
This is from the "About this data" section of a Google COVID-19 Community Mobility Report: It seems that the reports are compiled from location data that Google already collects and in this case it is just presented in a different way.
One must consider then why privacy activists/advocates and others are expressing immediate concern? For me it's kind of 'everybody loves a click', for various reasons obviously. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52138076 https://www.irishtimes.com/business...tracing-app-raises-privacy-concerns-1.4219224
Moscow To Launch New Surveillance App To Track Residents In Coronavirus Lockdown April 1, 2020 https://www.npr.org/sections/corona...pp-to-track-residents-in-coronavirus-lockdown
Responsible Coronavirus Surveillance Is Possible, Privacy Experts Say April 2, 2020 https://theintercept.com/2020/04/02/coronavirus-covid-19-surveillance-privacy/
Police App Encourages People To Report Neighbors Who Violate Stay At Home Orders (UPDATED) April 2, 2020 https://massprivatei.blogspot.com/2020/04/police-app-encourages-people-to-report.html
I think that is is because the collecting of that kind of data is problematic in itself; we are talking about location data, a highly private type of information. This, coupled with the fact that anonymization doesn't always protect the data as it should and with the fact that the data was initially used for another purpose (popular times) and that the purpose shifted overnight is a valid cause for concern. So IMO, the reason is related with the new way the location info is processed, not because it is collected since that is not something new.
Good luck on that But it's great to see someone at least saying so. The "snoop on your neighbors" thing has been SOP since the paleolithic era, at least. Really, since before humans evolved. Plants probably do it too.
Well yes, of course, we all know the usual candidates that have always been data-hungry, and something of what their practices are (via GDPR legislation etc), but novel situation now is way too tempting for these Data-munchers, and many of them will doubtless take advantage. And in the future?
Mobile phone tracking should be used in fight against virus https://www.theage.com.au/technolog...d-in-fight-against-virus-20200405-p54hae.html
What happens to people that simply turn off mobile data or even more simple, just leave their smartphone home?
Privacy cautious might do that, but I don't know many people that would go out without their phones. Specially if they go out to socialize.
EU privacy watchdog calls for pan-European mobile app for virus tracking April 6, 2020 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...n-mobile-app-for-virus-tracking-idUSKBN21O1KJ
Tech giants are finding creative ways to use our data to fight the coronavirus Privacy backlash? What privacy backlash? April 7, 2020 https://www.theverge.com/interface/...disease-prevention-maps-tech-privacy-backlash
W.Va. judge allows ankle monitors for virus scofflaws April 6, 2020 https://apnews.com/6b082395194d53b10629bb9bb3d037a2 Ankle monitors ordered for Louisville, Kentucky residents exposed to Covid-19 who refuse to stay home
"[White House] team seeks national coronavirus surveillance system Critics worry about a Patriot Act for health care, raising concerns about patient privacy and civil liberties... White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s task force has reached out to a range of health technology companies about creating a national coronavirus surveillance system to give the government a near real-time view of where patients are seeking treatment and for what... ...it would also represent a significant expansion of government use of individual patient data, forcing a new reckoning over privacy limits amid a national crisis..." https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/kushner-coronavirus-surveillance-174165
"World risks 'sleepwalking into surveillance' with coronavirus controls As countries use tech to tackle COVID-19, rights groups warn digital surveillance measures threaten freedoms and privacy... Digital surveillance rolled out to curb coronavirus should be limited in time and scope, more than 100 rights groups said on Thursday, warning governments not to use the crisis as cover for pervasive snooping..." https://news.trust.org/item/20200402133555-3kwdg