Information Technology and the pandemic: a preliminary multinational analysis of the impact of mobile tracking technology on the COVID-19 contagion control

ABSTRACT This paper explores the benefits and drawbacks of government surveillance within a public health crisis, specifically the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020. We review the current state of COVID-19 infection tracking by public health authorities, and then we examine the effectiveness of voluntary and mandatory mobile contact-tracing apps by COVID-19-positive or suspected positive individuals in China, Germany, Italy, Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. Through a Difference-In-Differences test, the apps were found to be highly significantly correlated with a reduction in the spread of COVID-19 in their countries. Robustness tests were run with four alternative models and the results are kept and presented within. In light of the success of these apps, ethical implications for their use during and beyond this public health crisis are discussed, including data governance and individual privacy issues.