US Officials Tracking People's Movement Using Mobile Ad Location Data To Study COVID-19

U.S. government officials use mobile ad industry position data — not carriers 'own data — to monitor American movements during the Coronavirus outbreak, reports the Wall Street Journal. US federal, state and local governments obtained location data from mobile ads to help prepare their response to the pandemic. The aim is to build a database of government with geolocation details from some 500 cities across the country to help decide how well people comply with stay-at-home orders, according to the WSJ.

The use of even anonymised data raises myriad questions about privacy, with privacy advocates calling for restrictions on how such data can be used and prohibiting its use for other purposes, the WSJ said.

China's monitoring device sends information to law enforcement officials, while Taiwan's "electronic fence" alerts authorities when a quarantined individual is traveling too far from their house. And South Korea used location data from mobile phones to create a public map of patients with coronavirus to monitor where people may be exposed.

It may be useful to officials investigating where to go next, such as stopping people from entering parks or identifying businesses that do not follow shelter-in-place orders. Around the same time, there are strong issues relating to privacy. While the data will not reveal anyone, there are fears that it may also be misused. If the data is mishandled, the rush to defend against COVID-19 can have unforeseen consequences, particularly if it hangs around until the pandemic has over.