Assessing the Governance of Digital Contact Tracing in Response to COVID-19: Results of a Multi-National Study

Brian Hutler; Alessandro Blasimme; Rachel Gur-Arie; Joseph Ali; Anne Barnhill; Amelia Hood; Jeffrey Kahn; Nancy L. Perkins; Alan Regenberg; Effy Vayena

doi:10.1017/jme.2023.20

Assessing the Governance of Digital Contact Tracing in Response to COVID-19: Results of a Multi-National Study

Brian Hutler, Alessandro Blasimme, Rachel Gur-Arie, Joseph Ali, Anne Barnhill, Amelia Hood, Jeffrey Kahn, Nancy L. Perkins, Alan Regenberg, Effy Vayena

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

This paper describes the results of a multi-country survey of governance approaches for the use of digital contact tracing (DCT) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that the countries in our survey represent two distinct models of DCT governance, both of which are flawed. The data protection model emphasizes privacy protections at the expense of public health benefit, while the emergency response model sacrifices transparency and accountability, prompting concerns about excessive governance surveillance. The ethical and effective use of DCT in the future requires a new governance approach that is better suited to this novel use of mobile phone data to promote public health.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	791-804
Number of pages	14
Journal	Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics
Volume	50
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/jme.2023.20
State	Published - 8 Mar 2022
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Digital Contact Tracing
Pandemic Response
Public Health Ethics
Public Health Governance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Medicine

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/jme.2023.20

Cite this

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abstract = "This paper describes the results of a multi-country survey of governance approaches for the use of digital contact tracing (DCT) in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that the countries in our survey represent two distinct models of DCT governance, both of which are flawed. The data protection model emphasizes privacy protections at the expense of public health benefit, while the emergency response model sacrifices transparency and accountability, prompting concerns about excessive governance surveillance. The ethical and effective use of DCT in the future requires a new governance approach that is better suited to this novel use of mobile phone data to promote public health.",

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Assessing the Governance of Digital Contact Tracing in Response to COVID-19: Results of a Multi-National Study

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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