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Behind Russia's Coronavirus Fight, a Surveillance State Blooms

Charles Maynes

   In the age of COVID-19, where does the line between security, privacy,
   and freedom lie?

   The question sits at the heart of a debate in Russia, where authorities
   are preparing rollout'¯of new digital "social monitoring" tools to
   battle the spread of the contagion.

   For now, the new monitoring measures apply only to Moscow -- the
   epicenter of the Russian outbreak, with the vast majority of the
   country's nearly 48,000'¯cases and counting.'¯

   Amid the darkening epidemiological picture,'¯Moscow Mayor Sergei
   Sobyanin insists the city has little option but to use technology to
   help stem the tide.

   "When we talk about the health and lives of an enormous amount of
   people, there's no choice," Sobyanin wrote in a statement implementing
   the measures, which roll out this week.'¯

   But in'¯a society with painful memories of surveillance and spying
   during the grimmest years of'¯Soviet repression, the new social
   controls are not to be taken lightly, government critics say.

   Opposition and digital rights activists maintain that in President
   Vladimir Putin's Russia -- where the push for national 'stability' has
   too often trumped individual rights'¯-- new surveillance tools provide
   the country's powerful security services with new weapons and little,
   if any, oversight.

   Beyond the quarantine'¯

   As the coronavirus has raced from its initial epicenter in China to
   countries across the globe, the world's governments have all raced to
   come up with solutions. Moscow -- like New York, London, and other
   major cities -- has been on the front line with the bulk of infections.
   Officials are taking some familiar steps.

   Under'¯self-isolation restrictions introduced last month, a majority
   of'¯the city's'¯12 million-plus residents now spend most time indoors.
   Exceptions are allowed for trips to the supermarket or pharmacy, taking
   out the trash or (briefly) walking the dog.'¯'¯

   Combined with a month-long paid work stoppage introduced by Putin
   nationwide, the restrictions have reduced bustling Moscow's usual hum
   to an eerie quiet.'¯

   Authorities have made no secret of their frustration with residents who
   ignore the rules --'¯'¯particularly those at high risk for COVID-19 who
   are under mandatory quarantine.'¯'¯

   Police say they've made hundreds of arrests and issued fines to
   violators. Still, city officials said a more thorough approach is
   warranted as spring beckons and the infections continue.

   That is where technology -- and controversy -- comes in.

   Muscovites suspected of having the coronavirus will have their
   movements tracked through a mandatory smartphone app.'¯For those who
   don't own a phone, the city said it will issue loaners.

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