2020/12/02 by Lucy Simko, Simko, Lucy, Jack Chang +9
Computer Science · Health Professions · Social Sciences · #COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing #Computers and Society (cs.CY) #Cryptography and Security (cs.CR) #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC) #Mobile Health and mHealth Applications #Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2012.01553
openalex publication_date 2020/12/02 · openalex created_date 2022/07/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
There is growing use of technology-enabled contact tracing, the process of\nidentifying potentially infected COVID-19 patients by notifying all recent\ncontacts of an infected person. Governments, technology companies, and research\ngroups alike have been working towards releasing smartphone apps, using IoT\ndevices, and distributing wearable technology to automatically track "close\ncontacts" and identify prior contacts in the event an individual tests\npositive. However, there has been significant public discussion about the\ntensions between effective technology-based contact tracing and the privacy of\nindividuals. To inform this discussion, we present the results of seven months\nof online surveys focused on contact tracing and privacy, each with 100\nparticipants. Our first surveys were on April 1 and 3, before the first peak of\nthe virus in the US, and we continued to conduct the surveys weekly for 10\nweeks (through June), and then fortnightly through November, adding topical\nquestions to reflect current discussions about contact tracing and COVID-19.\nOur results present the diversity of public opinion and can inform policy\nmakers, technologists, researchers, and public health experts on whether and\nhow to leverage technology to reduce the spread of COVID-19, while considering\npotential privacy concerns. We are continuing to conduct longitudinal\nmeasurements and will update this report over time; citations to this version\nof the report should reference Report Version 2.0, December 4, 2020.\n