https://tech.newstatesman.com/gdpr/covid-19-data-privacy

The Covid-19 global health crisis may alter the future of data privacy in the name of public safety. According to published reports, the US government is in talks with tech companies that include Facebook and Google along with health experts. The discussions concern how to use smartphone location data to combat the novel coronavirus, also known as Covid-19. The discussion also includes tracking whether citizens are keeping a safe distance to stop the virus from spreading.

The discussions come as big tech are been under fire from US regulators. They have pressured companies like Facebook and Google to become more transparent in their data collection practices. The suggestion is that they may be regulated. Now, in light of a global pandemic, public-health experts are interested in the possibility that these same companies could compile data in anonymous, aggregated forms to map the spread of the virus.