As the technology of video monitoring grows in capabilities and use cases, another concern begins raising its head: privacy. Recently, some countries have looked to use this capability to help with the coronavirus outbreak and enforcing stay-at-home and social distancing mandates. In China, CCTV cameras are being installed outside (and sometimes even inside) the apartments of those under quarantine to ensure they don’t leave. In South Korea, the government is using credit card transactions, smartphone location data and CCTV video to create a system where confirmed cases are tracked. And while it may be hard to imagine the American government installing cameras in people’s homes, 22 percent of U.S. broadband households are concerned their images may be recorded against their will according to research firm Parks Associates.
More than 100 human rights and privacy organizations from around the globe issued a joint statement in April calling on governments to ensure the use of digital surveillance technologies to fight the pandemic will respect human rights.