Thread on the folly of fighting COVID-19 w/ surveillance:
1/ Is there an independent study showing that digital contact tracing has, all things equal, been a big help? As opposed to masks, hand washing, testing, social distancing, public education, healthcare per capita, etc?
1/ Is there an independent study showing that digital contact tracing has, all things equal, been a big help? As opposed to masks, hand washing, testing, social distancing, public education, healthcare per capita, etc?
2/ Is it demonstrably clear that cell phone tracking can be reliable + effective in urban areas where the virus hits the hardest? Singapore's spy tactics seem to be failing. How to prevent false positives w/o the panopticon of cross-referencing location data/CCTV data/comms data?
3/ We must also grapple with the fact that the government that has the most intense citizen surveillance system in history (the Chinese Communist Party) couldn't, despite all the Orwellian tech in the world, prevent an outbreak, mass loss of life, and economic devastation.
4/ In fact, the CCP knew about the danger of the COVID-19 outbreak in December, but instead of using its enormous surveillance capabilities to quash the virus, it decided to try and cover up the outbreak, censor medical reports, and destroy evidence. What does that tell you?
5/ Despite this, some are still convinced that if we use surveillance tech the RIGHT way, it can save us. The concept papers for the most well-received digital contract tracing platform yet -- designed by Google and Apple -- promise privacy but are utopian and vague.
6/ Once the tech is released, and apps are built on top with government + corporate partners, more and more PII will be taken from citizens. Potentially 1/3 (!) of the world's population could be monitored by this app ecosystem. Bluetooth beacon tracking is accurate to the *inch*
7/ Even if you want to go with the argument that we all use smart phones and we're all being watched anyway, why give away even more of our precious liberties for something that isn't remotely proven? Why increase the effectiveness and normalization of surveillance?
8/ Rather than begging the tech titans to save us, why not look at the data? How many countries and regions are flattening the curve without using mass surveillance or cellphone tracking? Ironically, it appears the Bay Area is a great example.
9/ Consider 9/11 + the Patriot Act. Decisions made in the anxious months after helped massively erode the liberties of Americans and build a global surveillance state. And for what? Evidence that this has worked has been extremely thin and the system is absurdly expensive.
10/ Think of our societies a decade from now. Are we going to clamor for surveillance to fight every major crisis? For fighting the flu or any other contagion? You think that the Bluetooth tracking infrastructure planted by Apple and Google into all of our phones will go away?
11/ You don't think governments around the world will say: "Hey, this is actually really useful. Let's keep it. It gives us unprecedented power to track citizens"? They will. They will never let a good crisis go to waste.
12/ So before you get too excited about defeating COVID-19 with phone tracking + surveillance, ask yourself: do we need it? Will it work? What precedent does it set? What could go wrong?
Do we really need a police state to fight the virus?
Your future self says no, you don't.
Do we really need a police state to fight the virus?
Your future self says no, you don't.
