Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Looks to Expand Use of Data in Fighting COVID-19

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers and'¯rights groups are raising concerns
   about privacy'¯protections'¯and civil liberties as health
   authorities'¯study China,'¯South Korea and other nations
   for'¯insights'¯into'¯deploying'¯big data in the fight against the
   COVID-19 pandemic.

   So far, the United States has made limited use ofavailable data to
   fight theoutbreak. Instead of using cell phone location data to track
   down individuals exposed to the virus, public health officials have
   relied on such data to monitor trends and hot spots.

   But once the number of new'¯COVID-19'¯cases levels off and'¯the Trump
   administration and governors'¯move to lift lockdowns and other social
   distancing measures,'¯the contact tracing
   techniques'¯used'¯with'¯varying'¯degrees of success in other countries
   are likely to gain currency in the U.S.'¯'¯
   Contact tracing is a public health procedure of identifying people
   who'¯have'¯come'¯into contact with'¯an infected person'¯and follow-up
   gathering of additional information on these people.'¯

   Jennifer Granick, the surveillance and cybersecurity counsel at the
   American Civil Liberties Union, said contact tracing could be useful
   when testing'¯for exposure to the virus'¯becomes'¯ more'¯widely
   available.

   But she warned that any use of phone records must be transparent and
   voluntary, and the data must be destroyed once the crisis is over.

   "When data collection is useful for an important public good, we have
   to make sure we can protect privacy as much as possible and get
   effective use of the tool or the data," Granick said during a press
   call with reporters last week.

   In the two years since the European Union implemented a landmark
   privacy regulation known as'¯the'¯General Data Protection
   Regulation'¯(GDPR),'¯Republican and Democratic'¯U.S. lawmakers'¯have
   been pressing for similar protections for American consumers.'¯

   Now, the heightened focus on the use of'¯data'¯in the fight against the
   COVID-19 virus'¯has pushed concerns about privacy protections to the
   forefront.'¯'¯

.