Digital Trends – by Allison Matyus
The Israeli government is looking to use a secret trove of people’s cellphone data to decide who should be quarantined based on if they crossed paths with someone who has the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19.
The New York Times reports that the classified dataset that would be used is normally meant to combat terrorism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the move on Sunday, March 15, but Israel’s Parliament’s Secret Services Subcommittee still has to vote to approve the use of this top secret data.
“The idea is to sift through geolocation data routinely collected from Israeli cell phone providers about millions of 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,” the Times’ report reads.
Read the rest here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/news/israel-seeks-to-track-phone-data-for-coronavirus/