State power over citizen data post-pandemic
21
September 2021 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM
Anonymous (not verified)
31 August 2021
Online
Returning individual freedoms and data-privacy securing post-Covid
Of the vastly expanded government power to fight COVID-19, digital surveillance has moved to the forefront. Whilst lockdowns, testing, quarantines, and limited travel are some of the freedoms suspended to stop the spread, it is digital rights that are troubling many. Citizens have endured extensive digital intrusion conducted in the name of public health. From contact tracing and government apps to venue check-ins and enhanced medical data, questions regarding the state and digital liberty are rising.
States have accrued substantial amounts of data to combat the virus. How this data will be used and stored worries data privacy advocates. But as vaccinations continue apace and economies reopen, have the boundaries of state intervention in the digital sphere shifted?
This members event asks:
- After extensive tracking and monitoring, is individual data likely to be protected from government intrusion in the future?
- What is now considered acceptable government interference?
- Will public health be a new battleground for individual privacy and data rights?
- What more can be done to ensure adequate privacy safeguards and build citizen’s trust in the use of data for health purposes?
Source: Chathamhouse Events