COVID -19 has forced many governments to take extreme measures, such as surveillance of citizens. Some 110 human rights organizations from around the world have jointly called on all governments to uphold laws protecting human rights when using surveillance. Many governments have begun using such methods to monitor individuals and populations in an effort to combat the spread of the novel COVID-19.
The human rights organizations that took this action include: Amnesty International, Algorithm Watch, the Australian Privacy Foundation, Digital Rights Watch, European Digital Rights, the Foundation for Information Policy Research, Human Rights Watch, the International Human Rights Service and the World Wide Web Foundation.
“The use of surveillance technologies, such as access to data location mobile phone threatens privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association, in ways that could violate human rights and undermine trust in public authorities. measures also carry a risk of discrimination and may harm already marginalized communities,” the organizations’ joint statement said.
“These are special circumstances, but the law protecting human rights still applies. Indeed, the legal framework for human rights aims to ensure that different rights are balanced to protect individuals and wider societies.
States cannot simply ignore rights, such as privacy and freedom of expression, in the name of addressing a public health. On the contrary, protecting human rights is essential because it promotes public health and therefore helps combat COVID-19.
In this joint statement, human rights organizations propose some conditionsthat all governments should adhere to when using surveillance technologies during COVID-19:
In particular, the organizations emphasize that surveillance measures adopted to address the pandemic must be strictly legal and ensure that they are not abused. Any surveillance measure should only be used during the COVID-19 crisis and not continue to be applied afterwards. The collection, retention and use of personal data, including health data, should only be used to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has also spoken out about employers needing to maintain a safe working environment for their employees during this critical period and be very careful with the use and collection of data.
The UK government said it has reached out to mobile phone companies about using users ' location data . This will allow authorities to track citizens' movements to understand how COVID-19 is spreading and ensure people are adhering to quarantine measures .
According to Deputy Commissioner Steve Wood, the analysis of aggregated location data is helping to tackle the COVID-19 crisis. When this data is anonymised, it does not breach data protection law because it cannot be used to identify a specific individual.
“Under these circumstances, privacy laws are not violated as long as appropriate safeguards are in place,” he added.
Other countries, such as Brazil, Singapore, Israel, China , and South Korea, are already tracking users' location data in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.
