Surveillance technologies to fight the pandemic must respect human rights

In early March, I wrote my daily activity, including the people I interacted with, in a journal. I thought it might help me later on in case of the conduct of contact tracing of people afflicted with the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). My friends were telling me they preferred the “location history” information through the Google Maps Timeline, which is available to both mobile and desktop users. Location history is a Google Account–level setting that saves where you go with every mobile device when you opt in. It serves as an automated diary.

Google’s location history information proved useful in its coronavirus support efforts with last week’s launch of their Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports web tool. Providing insights into what changed in response to policies aimed at combating Covid-19 is the goal of these reports. They plot movement trends over time by geography, across different categories of places such as retail and recreation, groceries and pharmacies, parks, transit stations, workplaces, and residential areas. Preparation of the report is meant to help “you and public health officials understand responses to social distancing guidance related to Covid-19.”