Security News > 2020 > March > Privacy vs. Surveillance in the Age of COVID-19

So in this sense, I think that any argument for using surveillance to keep track of covid-19 infections or to provide basic security isn't credible and so can't be simply trusted.

If anyone now were to claim that they think they can stop an outbreak by means of surveillance, I think such might as well be deceptive, but also very wrong if the surveillance part isn't really neccessary.

If you just want to slow down the spread as being a goal in itself, what the hell for if also basing a surveillance scheme around that goal again? If one ended up arguing that, slowing down the spread of a pandeimc WORKS because of surveillance, I think there would be no way to tell the difference if comparing to wanting to slow down the spread in other ways not involving surveillance.

So what would be the point of relying on surveillance? Just to have the surveillance around? That wouldn't be right.

Then if one assume that governments now will want to work with this idea of 'herd immunity' indirectly by wanting to imagine a number of people believed to be potentially immune to covid-19 virus; there would imo be this jarring contrast where a government on one side find it desirable to expose a population to a virus gradually vis a vis health care capacity for treating covid-19 patients, and yet if also having the nerve to demand expanded surveillance in a time where a government already have an all too casual attitude to a pandemic.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/03/privacy_vs_surv.html