An American researcher uses anonymized Facebook location data to check whether people in California adhere to social distancing. He does this through Facebook’s Data for Good program.
Facebook’s Data for Good consists of anonymized data from social network users who have location history turned on. The data is available to selected non-profit organizations and research institutes. These are cards with aggregated data that could no longer be traced back to persons.
According to Protocol, an American disaster relief organization is now using that data to see in California whether the measures taken against the new corona virus make sense. People in certain states have been urged to maintain social distancing, and Facebook’s location data could show whether that is actually happening. The researcher shares his findings with the local authorities.
Researcher Andrew Schroeder says the cards don’t include details of Facebook profiles; it is therefore not possible to see whether, for example, young or old people exercise more or less. The researcher states that it would be good for health organizations to be able to see the age. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union have spoken out against the government’s use of Facebook data. The organization advocates tests instead of ‘high-tech Big Brother tracking’.
According to The Washington Post, the US government is in talks with tech companies such as Facebook and Google about sharing location data to monitor measures against the new coronavirus. A Facebook spokesperson tells Protocol that the company has not received such a request and states that the social network does not share data directly with governments.
Google confirms to The Washington Post that the company is in talks with government and health experts. Google itself says it is investigating how it can use its available location data to help in the fight against the corona virus. As an example, Google mentions determining the effect of social distancing rules. The spokesperson tells the newspaper that anonymized data will be used for this.
More countries are turning to location data to take or monitor measures against the coronavirus. For example, it appeared earlier this week that Israel and Austria are using mobile phone location data from citizens to track the movements of infected patients. China has also been doing this for a long time.