3 ms·

I'm actually surprised that we haven't had a government try to access that kind of data. They've been generally going at it for all kinds of "small" stuff, burg

I'm actually surprised that we haven't had a government try to access that kind of data. They've been generally going at it for all kinds of "small" stuff, burglary, riots, and they're not trying to get their hands on it to combat a pandemic?

vharuck 7y ago
It might happen eventually. Possible explanation for why it hasn't happened yet: it's influenced by how the government employee views their relationship to the individual. I work with very detailed patient data in a state health department. It's been drilled into me that patient privacy is above everything. Everyone I work with is out to help these people. We would be ashamed if we looked at, let alone made decisions with, data beyond what was necessary. Law enforcement is different. One of their major tasks is to gather data. Data on people suspected of a crime. Or data from innocent people that can lead to suspects. Maybe convincing public health to push the boundaries of collecting personal data to combat this disease will be as hard as convincing law enforcement to be less gung-ho. It goes against long history of professional ethics. I have no sources, so take it with a tub of salt.
elliekelly 7y ago
I thought I had read that South Korea was using cellphone geolocation data of people who had tested positive in order to identify/alert others who may have had contact with them while they were contagious? Edit: Not quite as big brothery as I thought it would be https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronavirus-south-korea-tracking-apps/2020/03/13/2bed568e-5fac-11ea-ac50-18701e14e06d_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronaviru...
Adverblessly 7y ago
Reportedly happening in Israel, though they don't call out the method of cellular tracking they use: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/coronavirus-cases-in-israel-spike-to-164-nearly-2-500-medical-officials-quarantined-1.8671075 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/coronavirus-cases-in-isr... ... The government approved the tracking of cellphones by the Shin Bet security service in order to inform people who were unwittingly close to someone diagnosed with the virus during the two weeks prior to the diagnosis. ...

vharuck 7y ago

It might happen eventually. Possible explanation for why it hasn't happened yet: it's influenced by how the government employee views their relationship to the individual. I work with very detailed patient data in a state health department. It's been drilled into me that patient privacy is above everything. Everyone I work with is out to help these people. We would be ashamed if we looked at, let alone made decisions with, data beyond what was necessary. Law enforcement is different. One of their major tasks is to gather data. Data on people suspected of a crime. Or data from innocent people that can lead to suspects. Maybe convincing public health to push the boundaries of collecting personal data to combat this disease will be as hard as convincing law enforcement to be less gung-ho. It goes against long history of professional ethics. I have no sources, so take it with a tub of salt.

elliekelly 7y ago

I thought I had read that South Korea was using cellphone geolocation data of people who had tested positive in order to identify/alert others who may have had contact with them while they were contagious? Edit: Not quite as big brothery as I thought it would be https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronavirus-south-korea-tracking-apps/2020/03/13/2bed568e-5fac-11ea-ac50-18701e14e06d_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronaviru...

Adverblessly 7y ago

Reportedly happening in Israel, though they don't call out the method of cellular tracking they use: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/coronavirus-cases-in-israel-spike-to-164-nearly-2-500-medical-officials-quarantined-1.8671075 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/coronavirus-cases-in-isr... ... The government approved the tracking of cellphones by the Shin Bet security service in order to inform people who were unwittingly close to someone diagnosed with the virus during the two weeks prior to the diagnosis. ...