COVID-19 — Health crisis or excuse to establish a surveillance state?
Background
Covid-19 poses a multi-national health crisis of unprecedented scale. Since no known treatment or vaccine exists, the commonly accepted solution is isolation of those who’ve contracted it reducing its further spread. Today, 48 US states, the federal government and nations across the world have declared emergency due to this healthcare crisis. This declaration of emergency in addition to a mass public panic has empowered the governments to increase fiscal budgets and put their citizens’ human rights on hold — especially through privacy violations.
Research shows that when governments get new powers in a crisis, they seldom give those powers away once the crisis is over. This has happened time and again — one relevant example is the noticeable mass surveillance increase post the 9/11 terror attacks which continues to date, and the international anti-terrorism escapades of the US government in the Middle-East that are only recently subsiding. This is the reason that a public backlash is brewing on the rise in public surveillance.
Measures in place
Administrations of Singapore, Hong Kong, China, and South Korea among other countries have acquired technologies to track the movement of citizens. These technologies help governments enforce ‘social distancing’ among citizens with an aim to reduce transmission.
Singapore has launched ‘Trace Together, a mobile app that tracks Bluetooth signals around the device to log and report citizens who come in close contact with each other.
In Hong Kong, those in mandatory quarantine are made to wear iOT wristbands. If the quarantined individual steps out of their quarantined zone, the administration is immediately notified.
In South Korea, a Big Data ecosystem is already in place that records public CCTVs, mobile locations, financial transactions etc. to create a wholesome picture of people movement. In fact, the authorities created a map that tracks which person has had close contact with a carrier of Covid-19.
In Israel, mobile phone locations are being tracked to monitor citizens and enforce quarantines. Interestingly, the state of Israel had been tracking mobile locations covertly since an indefinite period. This came to light only recently when their Prime Minister dug into previously collected covert data to alert and quarantine citizens who inadvertently came in contact with known carriers of Covid-19.
With time, these slew of tracking measures are predicted to only increase in intensity and reach. Maya Wang, a senior researcher on China at Human Rights Watch said — “Coronavirus is pushing us over the edge and … perhaps institutionalizing these systems and in addition, making general public to become more accepting of these more intrusive measures.”
Scepticism on effectiveness of public surveillance
Moreover, sceptics of public surveillance question the assumption that public surveillance leads to a reduction in Covid-19 cases. Privacy advocates are insisting that public health professionals should come forward to prove that these surveillance technologies can indeed address the crisis. Are they effective in tracking pin-point locations of Covid-19 carriers? Do these lead to better health outcomes? Or are we sacrificing human rights for nothing? Sceptics desire these answers from health professionals, not government administrations.
End near?
Until when will the data be collected? And will the data be erased? The Patriot Act was enacted post the 9/11 terrorist attacks with an intent to track citizens only until 2005. Even in 2020, it continues to give the US government broad ranging surveillance powers over its citizens. Experts fear this cycle will continue — that governments all over the world will continue to put the human rights of their citizens on hold. That governments will continue to track long after Covid-19 is a distant memory. And that the social contract between a democratic government and its citizens will never be the same
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