To help stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic, multiple
countries are currently using some form of digital tracking,
including geolocation data, to identify the contacts of individuals
infected with COVID-19.1
Indeed, South Korea and Singapore have asked their citizens to
voluntarily consent to
cellphone tracking of their movements through, among other
things, downloadable apps.
On the more extreme side, Taiwan is using mandatory
state-sanctioned cellphone tracking and location sharing in an
attempt to stymie the spread of the disease.
Certainly, U.S. companies should be questioning the cost and
potential attendant liability of using this data at home.
American companies are already discussing the sharing of
anonymized geolocation data with the U.S. government to assist in
tracking coronavirus transmission. At least one company has already
begun analyzing location data and providing a scorecard that grades each state's
purported compliance with social
