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U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

washingtonpost.com

31–40 of 186 posts

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#31
post #21

‘in moments of crisis, people are willing to hand over a great deal of power to anyone who claims to have a magic cure—whether the crisis is a financial meltdown or, as the Bush administration would later show, a terrorist attack’ (Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine)

Speaking of Klein, she'll need to add a few elements to her Pandemic Shock Doctrine script:

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/17/we-know-script-...

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#32

Conveniently they already have a system that can track associations N hops from any given person.

Which is based on discrete data from a graph built from phone calls, fixed line locations and SMS/email meta data. It doesn't have (from the Snowden dump) selectors for intersecting location tracks. TBH, I just don't think that is the way the FBI finds dead drops.

Was based. They haven't been swimming in place for ten years.

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#34

Before the Federal government gets location data, they're going to have to test to find out who has it.

"The Fed" refers to the Federal Reserve, not federal agencies, branches, or the government in general. Not to be confused with "feds," referring to federal agents individually or in general.

Also, the submission title is simply missing a word: the article uses "Federal government in talks [...]" which is a very conventional usage, whereas "Federal" as a standalone noun is considerably more rare.

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#35

The government tracking everyone's location all the time would be/is a gross infringement on privacy. The government tracking everyone's location for a limited time period in order to curb a deadly epidemic seems much more reasonable. The difficulty is trusting them to give back that power when the crisis is over. If not for the experience of the Patriot Act, I'd be more inclined to give the benefit of the doubt ther…

They could make an app and work with Apple/Google to have it auto-installed, but where the app can be uninstalled by the user if they wish to opt out.

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#36

Before the Federal government gets location data, they're going to have to test to find out who has it.

"The Fed" refers to the Federal Reserve, not federal agencies, branches, or the government in general. Not to be confused with "feds," referring to federal agents individually or in general. Also, the submission title is simply missing a word: the article uses "Federal government in talks [...]" which is a very conventional usage, whereas "Federal" as a standalone noun is considerably more rare.

Thanks for the usage analysis. Long week with too much information overload.

I'll update to at least be colloquially correct.

Thanks!

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#38
I suggested something similar but based on using Bluetooth and running an app locally. This would be more sensitive to proximity while potentially giving away slightly less data about exactly where you are, and easier to opt out of, either temporarily (while at home say) or completely.

There could also be the option of logging nearby Bluetooth addresses locally only and looking up an online database of infected owners, or submitting collected data online to allow aggregation and preemptive notifications of potential exposure before symptoms show

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#39
post #28

The interesting thing about ideas like this is that they reveal how authoritarianism during times of stability does a terrible amount of damage during times of crisis. This is the sort of problem that could be solved in a better world; collecting location data to find interactions between people would allow you to get them tested faster and prevent a disease from spreading. But it simply can't be done in this country…

I’ve regressed to my cynical default in the past few days, but “a large institution that I would trust with this authority” sounds like pure fantasy.

Re: U.S. govt, tech industry discuss using location data to combat coronavirus

#40
post #28

The interesting thing about ideas like this is that they reveal how authoritarianism during times of stability does a terrible amount of damage during times of crisis. This is the sort of problem that could be solved in a better world; collecting location data to find interactions between people would allow you to get them tested faster and prevent a disease from spreading. But it simply can't be done in this country…

Yeah this is kinda how we got the Patriot Act.
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