Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Google to publish user location data to help govts tackle virus
France24 ^ | April 3, 2020

Posted on 04/03/2020 2:53:01 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

Paris (AFP) - Google will publish location data from its users around the world from Friday to allow governments to gauge the effectiveness of social distancing measures put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the tech giant said.

The reports on users' movements in 131 countries will be made available on a special website and will "chart movement trends over time by geography," according to a post on one of the company's blogs.

Trends will be display "a percentage point increase or decrease in visits" to locations like parks, shops, homes and places of work, not "the absolute number of visits," said the post, signed by Jen Fitzpatrick, who leads Google Maps, and the company's chief health officer Karen DeSalvo.

"We hope these reports will help support decisions about how to manage the COVID-19 pandemic," they said.

In Europe and the United States, technology firms have begun sharing "anonymised" smartphone data to better track the outbreak.

Even privacy-loving Germany is considering using a smartphone app to help manage the spread of the disease.

But activists say authoritarian regimes are using the coronavirus as a pretext to suppress independent speech and increase surveillance.

And in liberal democracies, others fear widespread data harvesting and intrusion could bring lasting harm to privacy and digital rights.

(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; chinadata; covid19; freedom; google; location; privacy; russia; sidebarabuse; spying; technotyranny; virus
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last

1 posted on 04/03/2020 2:53:01 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Going to have to go dark.


2 posted on 04/03/2020 2:55:53 AM PDT by HighSierra5
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

The data would be flawed by essential service movement, travel, shipping, and delivery, local and national.


3 posted on 04/03/2020 2:56:24 AM PDT by Ymani Cricket (Pressure makes diamonds - General Patton)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Somewhere Eric Blair has a big smile on his face.

Guess my cell phone will have to be shielded. Turning it off won’t do any good. They can track you even with it off.


4 posted on 04/03/2020 3:12:42 AM PDT by upchuck (Democrats are always the problem, never the answer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Let’s attach our phones to drones and all “meet” in the park! Lol


5 posted on 04/03/2020 3:31:34 AM PDT by Ros42
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: upchuck

How do you shield your phone?


6 posted on 04/03/2020 3:59:06 AM PDT by Engedi
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Engedi

Faraday cage.


7 posted on 04/03/2020 4:01:00 AM PDT by Polynikes ( Hakkaa paalle)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Big Brother is not watching you.

8 posted on 04/03/2020 4:08:10 AM PDT by P.O.E. (Pray for America)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Obviously google has all this data on us. Authorities also using cell phone location data. The biggest loss after this covid-$h!t is over, will be our freedom.

The fascists in government rushed to gain more control over us, and they will never let go of it.


9 posted on 04/03/2020 4:44:05 AM PDT by I want the USA back (The media is acting full-on as the Democratic Party's press agency now: Robert Spencer)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

On the road to China...


10 posted on 04/03/2020 4:49:47 AM PDT by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired... Army snipers: Reach out and touch someone)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: HighSierra5

My wife and I have one cellphone and we don’t use it unless there’s a compelling reason. Babbling with friends or relatives is not a compelling reason. It’s turned off probably 95 percent of the time.

We still like our land line which gives us a household phone, not an individual person’s phone.


11 posted on 04/03/2020 4:55:10 AM PDT by cymbeline
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

I do believe that violates CA Constitution of right to privacy.
There are some serious fools running that company.


12 posted on 04/03/2020 4:58:24 AM PDT by Zathras
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: upchuck

Cell phone= Mark of the beast?


13 posted on 04/03/2020 5:55:11 AM PDT by GranTorino (Bloody Lips Save Ships.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: upchuck

That’s why I got one of the rare offerings with a removable battery.


14 posted on 04/03/2020 5:55:38 AM PDT by PAR35
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: cymbeline

Turning your phone off only keeps the phone in standby. You need to pull the batteries if you actually want it off. But they thought of that and made the batteries inaccessible.


15 posted on 04/03/2020 6:13:48 AM PDT by BuffaloJack ("Security does not exist in nature. Everything has risk." Henry Savage)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Engedi
How do you shield your phone?

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cell+phone+faraday+bag&i=electronics&crid=37R6OEZS3SPYE

16 posted on 04/03/2020 6:29:35 AM PDT by upchuck (Democrats are always the problem, never the answer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: GranTorino

Definitely in China.


17 posted on 04/03/2020 6:45:14 AM PDT by Rebelbase
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Does Google still get access to location if I turn off the GPS. I know it is still available for 911, but I don’t know if they still get GPS constantly or if they also get cell phone tower info and WiFi router data. I generally turn off GPS unless I specically want it for a minute or two.


18 posted on 04/03/2020 6:51:17 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Newton invented calculus when the plague shut down Cambridge. What will you do with your time off?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BuffaloJack

“Turning your phone off only keeps the phone in standby”

By turning it off I mean powering it down. When my phone is “powered down” the battery holds its charge virtually forever which suggests the phone is doing nothing but monitoring the button on the side.

Do you think it’s in standby when powered down as I describe?

If so then you’d need to keep it in a metal box to shut it off from the world.


19 posted on 04/03/2020 7:08:43 AM PDT by cymbeline
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: cymbeline

And Bill Gates and co. is working on various vaccines; along with them there may (it’s being studied) be injected a sensor to verify you have it.
Possibly, you could be denied access to various public areas without it.

That’s one step away from something worse along similar lines.


20 posted on 04/03/2020 6:07:40 PM PDT by CondorFlight
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson