The Washington Post reports U.S. government officials are consulting with big tech companies and public health professionals on the possibility of using location data from cellphones to track individuals infected by COVID-19. The health professionals have pitched the idea of companies, like Facebook and Google, compiling anonymized data that would be used for a map to track the spread of the disease. However, Google has already stated it has privacy concerns over the use of location data. Senate Democrats have written letters to the White House and Google over privacy concerns, as well. Editor's note: Privacy Perspectives recently explored the balance of individual privacy with public health.
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