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"South Korea has used data from surveillance cameras, cellphones and credit card transactions to map the social connections of suspected cases. " None of these

by pgrote 7y ago

"South Korea has used data from surveillance cameras, cellphones and credit card transactions to map the social connections of suspected cases. " None of these things are available to health departments in the United States unless someone voluntarily allows it. The United States has a weak federal containment strategy when it comes to pandemics since most of the decision making is left to Governors. Louisiana allowed Mardi Gras. Florida didn't issue guidance on their beaches until most of spring break was over. One state next to another such as Illinois and Missouri have vastly different mandates. The United States lost the battle of containment. The only thing left is the war to not overwhelm the medical system.

sp332 7y ago
Every cell phone user has to be tracked so the cell network knows how to route their calls. Result: https://twitter.com/TectonixGEO/status/1242628347034767361 https://twitter.com/TectonixGEO/status/1242628347034767361 (edited for better link)
- rsync 7y ago
  Where did this researcher get the anonymized mobile phone location data points from ? Also, I think it's important to clarify that: "Every cell phone user has to be tracked so the cell network knows how to route their calls ..." ... would be more accurate if we said: "Every cell phone has to be tracked ..." Many pieces of the cellular network have no idea who the handset (or other device) is assigned to, or who is using it - they just know that that SIM card is up on the network, and needs to be routed appropriately ...
  - sp332 7y ago
    Good question. I updated the link to a more original source, which says the data is from X-Mode Social https://xmode.io/ https://xmode.io/
    - tastroder 7y ago
      Funny, same data source as this creepy submission from the US: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22700652 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22700652
  - dylz 7y ago
    As a note for readers: to get a mobile SIM in South Korea of any kind, you pretty much need identity verification.
    - rsync 7y ago
      You've missed my point. Of course the telecom itself, for many purposes - not the least of which is billing - needs to know a personal identity behind a SIM card. What I am saying is that individual cell sites - and other pieces of the cellular infrastructure - are only indirectly (or not at all) connected to personal identity of the mobile subscriber. Call routing can be done just fine without any idea of subscriber identity in meatspace.

by pgrote 7y ago

sp332 7y ago

Every cell phone user has to be tracked so the cell network knows how to route their calls. Result: https://twitter.com/TectonixGEO/status/1242628347034767361 https://twitter.com/TectonixGEO/status/1242628347034767361 (edited for better link)

rsync 7y ago
Where did this researcher get the anonymized mobile phone location data points from ? Also, I think it's important to clarify that: "Every cell phone user has to be tracked so the cell network knows how to route their calls ..." ... would be more accurate if we said: "Every cell phone has to be tracked ..." Many pieces of the cellular network have no idea who the handset (or other device) is assigned to, or who is using it - they just know that that SIM card is up on the network, and needs to be routed appropriately ...
- sp332 7y ago
  Good question. I updated the link to a more original source, which says the data is from X-Mode Social https://xmode.io/ https://xmode.io/
  - tastroder 7y ago
    Funny, same data source as this creepy submission from the US: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22700652 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22700652
- dylz 7y ago
  As a note for readers: to get a mobile SIM in South Korea of any kind, you pretty much need identity verification.
  - rsync 7y ago
    You've missed my point. Of course the telecom itself, for many purposes - not the least of which is billing - needs to know a personal identity behind a SIM card. What I am saying is that individual cell sites - and other pieces of the cellular infrastructure - are only indirectly (or not at all) connected to personal identity of the mobile subscriber. Call routing can be done just fine without any idea of subscriber identity in meatspace.