The most shady data harvesting companies, who are secretly gathering location data from smartphones and apps without the users' knowledge, are covidwashing their products and exploiting the disaster.
According to @geoffreyfowler, Unacast's CEO said 'all of the apps that Unacast acquires location data from must let users know. But he declined to name any of the apps'.
How reliable is the data? How biased? We have no idea. He doesn't even name the data sources. Irresponsible.
How reliable is the data? How biased? We have no idea. He doesn't even name the data sources. Irresponsible.
Certain kinds of aggregate analytics based on consumer data that is being gathered secretly or illegally *may* be appropriate right now, in case of emergency.
But: full transparency, public governance, strong legal safeguards, firms must be held accountable for other data uses.
But: full transparency, public governance, strong legal safeguards, firms must be held accountable for other data uses.
Btw. Thx to @airavn, who mentioned the term #coronawashing in a chat before :)
Now we know that people from all over the US meeting for spring break and then returning home may be an issue (@rcalo).
They claim this is based on 'anonymized' data. This is not true. Data linked to device IDs is not anonymous and refers to individuals.
They claim this is based on 'anonymized' data. This is not true. Data linked to device IDs is not anonymous and refers to individuals.
