Israel plans to use mobile data to retrace the steps of those infected with covid-19 (coronavirus) and identify others who should be quarantined because their paths crossed, the New York Times reported. The data was normally covertly gathered to combat terrorism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government would approve emergency regulations on 16 March and that this would allow the data to be used for a limited period of 30 days, with permission from the attorney general.
The existence of the data trove and the legislative framework under which it was generated and used have not previously been reported. The plan to use it for public health reasons had not yet been debated by lawmakers or revealed to the public.
The idea is to sift through geolocation data routinely collected from Israeli mobile phone providers about their customers in Israel and the West Bank, find people who came into close contact with known virus carriers, and send them text messages directing them to isolate themselves immediately.
Disclosure of the plan raised alarm among privacy advocates. Anticipating the criticism, officials insisted that use of the data by the Internal Security Agency, or Shin Bet, would be scrupulously limited.
“The use of advanced Shin Bet technologies is intended for one purpose only: saving lives,” said a senior security official, who insisted on anonymity. “In this way, the spread of the virus in Israel can be narrowed, quickly and efficiently. This is a focused, time-limited and limited activity that is monitored by the government, the attorney general and the Knesset’s regulatory mechanisms.”
