Posted
March 30, 2020 13: 59: 03
Borders, beaches, pubs and churches are closed, large events are cancelled, and travellers are subject to 14 days’ isolation — all at significant cost to taxpayers and the economy.
But could telecommunications technology offer a more targeted approach to controlling the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus?
One possibility is to use location history data from the mobile phones of confirmed cases, to help track and trace the spread of infection.
Some people can be contagious without knowing, either because they have not yet developed symptoms, or because their symptoms are mild. These individuals cannot be identified until they become sufficiently unwell to seek medical assistance.
Finding them more quickly could help curb the spread of the disease
But what about privacy?
This suggestion clearly raises complex privacy issues.
All mobile service providers in Australia are required to hold two years of data relating to the use of each mobile phone on their network, i