Tech and Covid-19

Global and regional perspectives on digital trends during the crisis

Feature Articles

Are fitness trackers the next answer to fight Covid-19?

As contact-tracing apps prove less useful than hoped in many countries, other digital tools such as wearable fitness trackers are gaining in popularity for detecting or tracing coronavirus infection. But a reliance on such technologies comes with big questions about effectiveness and privacy.

By Deepika Yadav

Berlin Germany 29.08.2020 Anticorona demonstration in Berlin street of June 17 and Brandenburg Gate

"It must be a plot!" – Coronavirus conspiracy theorists take to streets in Germany

Conspiracy theories might seem funny in ordinary times. But against the backdrop of escalating far-right attacks worldwide in recent years and now the pandemic, these myths have spiraled into a dangerous pattern of radicalization.

By Katharina Nocun

About

This series is a co-production of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung European Union, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Hong Kong, and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Washington, DC with the support of other global offices. The content is published on the websites of Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung offices around the world.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung e.V. or any of its global offices.

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Digital Democracy

Anti-disinformation efforts may suppress free speech

Activists in Asia fear anti-disinformation efforts will suppress free speech

In Singapore and South Korea, fact-checking initiatives have been effective in fighting Covid-19 disinformation. But other tactics – like confusing or overly broad laws – could be used to maintain political power.

By Christy Tsang

Spot a liar by their nose - social networks can't detect Covid-19 misinformation very easily.

Social Media Platforms Need to Flatten the Curve of Dangerous Misinformation

The rampant spread of Covid-19 conspiracies serves as a warning that our online information ecosystem can be weaponized well before platform administrators step in. To counter the deluge of viral disinformation, platforms should implement a circuit breaker mechanism to limit the exponential amplification of harmful content.

By Ellen P. Goodman and Karen Kornbluh

It's time for a transatlantic digital agenda

The pandemic-driven boost of digital innovation holds opportunities, but it needs a sound political framework. From countering disinformation to preventing algorithmic discrimination, the U.S. and the EU need to work together to set the rules for our digital economies and societies.

The US Congress should seize the moment to modernize during Covid-19

The coronavirus pandemic highlights the challenges of outdated congressional practices that needed to be addressed long ago. Individual members' offices and leadership of the House and Senate should reevaluate how technology can help US lawmakers better serve their constituents and their country.

By Ananda Bhatia

Infected texts: disinformation meets polarization in Brazil

The fight against Covid-19 in Brazil has developed into an ideological battle, pitting President Jair Bolsonaro - who wants to reopen the country - against those who defend the WHO protocols. Brazil’s WhatsApp culture has opened the gate to a flood of rumors and fake news, some of which can allegedly be traced back to Bolsonaro’s inner circle. But the favelas are seeking their own solutions to counter disinformation.

By Helena Costa and Mônica Chaves

We need a democratic debate on tech, privacy and social rights

Tech will not free us from coronavirus, but it can provide us with helpful tools – if we foster an open and democratic debate on how to use it.

By Alexandra Geese

Digital Economy

Pandemic strengthens China’s platforms as infrastructure providers

From rural live-streaming to coordinating medical care, technology platforms in China have taken on a central role during the Covid-19 crisis. The pandemic accelerated trends that further cement these companies as key infrastructure providers working in close tandem with the state – but this cozy relationship comes at a cost to many.

Profiteering from the pandemic: How India’s lockdown paved the way for big e-commerce disaster capitalism

COVID-19 has become a moment of opportunism for Indian e-commerce companies to consolidate their market power, insert themselves into local supply chains and co-opt neighborhood stores. Policy interventions are urgently needed to preserve the autonomy of the traditional retail sector and prevent Big Tech’s takeover of local economies.

By Anita Gurumurthy and Nandini Chami

How the pandemic kickstarted a health tech renaissance in Nigeria

Covid-19 has accelerated innovation in the Nigerian health tech sector, providing opportunities for growth in an industry that has typically lacked investment, government endorsement, and attention.

By Ayodeji Rotinwa

Will Big Tech emerge as the big winner in the coronacrisis? Not so fast.

Big technology companies are getting a break from the “techlash,” but this does not mean that the monopolists are permanently off the hook. The crisis has highlighted privacy and security concerns and well as subpar labor standards in the industry. Social media face additional scrutiny for how they deal with COVID-19 related disinformation.

By Sabine Muscat

Digital Rights

Venn diagram showing various concepts regarding data

Why we need to rethink open data in Asia during Covid-19

In Asia, the pandemic has accelerated efforts to keep citizens informed through prompt and extensive data sharing. However, this new openness has also led to concerns regarding transparency, data protection, and democratic participation.

By Benjamin Zhou

Finger Print Biometric Scanning Identification System. Philippines Nationality

Can a national ID database ease the burden of Covid-19 in the Philippines?

The pandemic has increased calls for a national ID system to improve access to relief funds. Experts say that the proposed plan may not work and may put data security and privacy at risk.

By Jasmine Shewakramani

Green means go: A neighborhood in Xi'an, China, regulates access with the Health Code app

The bio-surveillance state: an emerging new normal in Asia

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred the use of digital technologies that are shaping people's lives and interaction with society. The development of apps to monitor the movements and health status of individual citizens will have long-term implications for privacy and safety. Nowhere is this more visible than in Asia.

A “Bridge to Health” divides India

The Indian government faces strong pushback from civil society for mandating the use of a privacy-intrusive COVID-19 tracing app. The heated legal debate resembles the previous one over the country’s controversial biometric ID system Aadhaar.

How the pandemic strained the European Parliament’s digital infrastructure

The coronavirus lockdown caught the IT infrastructure of the European Parliament unprepared for such severe emergency conditions. The EU's parliamentary work comes with distinct political sensitivities and responsibilities for transparency that complicate the legislative process. Any measures taken to introduce digital tools now and in the future must safeguard vital democratic principles.

By Eszter Bakó

Brazil delays privacy law, uses Covid-19 for data grab

Federal, state, and city governments are working with technology companies to monitor citizens during the pandemic, with no guarantee of what will happen to the data after the crisis passes. The irony is that Brazil already has a law that would protect the right to privacy – but the government is trying to delay its implementation.

By Flávia Lefèvre and Joyce Souza

How not to use tech in a pandemic - lessons from the UK

From legal challenges to delays, leaks and policy reversals, the UK has stumbled in its tech response to the pandemic in the same way that it has faltered in its overall strategy, even frequently being forced to change course. A full assessment of what happened will take time, but the record thus far already offers lessons for the future.

By Frederike Kaltheuner

So it works, after all! Why I installed the German coronavirus tracing app

Open-source software, transparent communication, and public-private cooperation with both large and small companies—the development of the German contact tracing app could be a model for future government IT projects.

One app per province? How Canada’s federalism complicates digital contact tracing

A strong sense of regional sovereignty in the Canadian health care system may lead to different choices for technologies to track and contain the spread of the coronavirus. A multiplicity of non-interoperable apps could put their effectiveness in question and could create inconsistent approaches to privacy.

By Teresa Scassa

Germany’s epic corona-tracing debate: a risky game with public trust

The debate over the data storage model of a coronavirus tracing app shows how the German government’s search for digital infection control tools became caught up between public health officials, privacy experts and the US tech industry.

By Vérane Meyer

EU struggles to reconcile contact tracing with high privacy standards

As European countries turn to apps to contain the pandemic, the EU must weigh the public health emergency against its own data protection rules. Policymakers and experts on data protection and privacy in Brussels warn that tracing and monitoring technology can undermine fundamental rights.

By Alexander Fanta

Lack of privacy law complicates US debate over Covid-19 tracking

App developers and state governments in the United States are churning out new technologies for tracking the spread of the coronavirus. In the absence of a national privacy law, experts raise concerns about surveillance and scramble to define the boundaries for data collection during the pandemic.

By Gopal Ratnam

Digital Society

For people with disabilities, working from home using tech is a relief – and a struggle

Increased use of digital communication tools during the Covid-19 lockdowns has made working from home acceptable – and even more sociable – for many people with disabilities. But technology still has a long way to go toward inclusion. A storyteller, a sales development researcher, a product and graphic designer, and a writer talk about the pros and cons.

By Hawken Miller

AI’s speed and innovation against Covid-19 points the way for the battle against climate change, too

The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred radical measures worldwide to stem the spread of the virus, and specialists from different fields have taken up the challenge, working together to solve common problems using new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). This momentum is a beacon of hope for the fight against climate change.

By Sasha Luccioni

Women keep things going - just like Sheffield's female steel workers during WWII

The great leveller? How Covid-19 responses could widen gender inequality in the UK

The coronavirus pandemic – just like society – runs along fault lines of gender, race, class and other inequalities. With women over-represented in vulnerable frontline jobs, there are fears that technologies proposed to tackle the pandemic could inflict harms that differ based on gender.

By Ella Jakubowska

Basic internet access it not enough. We need universal connectivity!

The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the ugly consequences of digital inequities around the world. The most privileged can rely on online tools as digital lifeboats while those with limited or no access are left adrift. The definition of internet access as a human right has to be expanded to include access to universal, reliable and affordable high-speed internet.

By Laura Schwartz-Henderson

Home office could be here to stay in Germany – if the internet in rural areas holds up

The coronavirus pandemic forced half of the German working population to work from home. A majority was happy with the move, an early study indicates. If the broadband expansion catches up in the countryside, many might never go back.

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