On health and privacy: technology to combat the pandemic

Key takeaways

• Technology has been harnessed in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, eg to administer remote medical consultations, analyse aggregate movements and track paths of contact.
• Successful applications are predicated on broad public support. They must address concerns about data privacy, and the potential for misuse of data by governments and companies.
• Transparent public policies and clear governance frameworks can help to build trust. One possible approach is to differentiate data use during a pandemic and in normal times.

Online appendix