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

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.