Ethics of instantaneous contact tracing using mobile phone apps in the control of the Covid-19 pandemic

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21514112
AutoresMichael Parker (0000-0002-7054-4711, University of Oxford, autor de correspondencia), Michael J Parker (0000-0003-4739-5217), Christophe Fraser (0000-0003-2399-9657, Centre for Human Genetics), Lucie Abeler-Dörner, Lucie Abeler‐Dörner (0000-0003-3662-4192, Open Data Institute), David Bonsall (0000-0003-2187-0550, Open Data Institute)
Año2020
Volumen46
Número7
Páginas427-431
Fecha de publicación2020-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Medical Ethics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0306-6800 • E-ISSN: 1473-4257
EditorialBMJ (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1136/medethics-2020-106314
PMID32366705
OpenAlexW3021966615
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas51
Referencias citadas3

In this paper we discuss ethical implications of the use of mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing is a well-established feature of public health practice during infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics. However, the high proportion of pre-symptomatic transmission in COVID-19 means that standard contact tracing methods are too slow to stop the progression of infection through the population. To address this problem, many countries around the world have deployed or are developing mobile phone apps capable of supporting instantaneous contact tracing. Informed by the on-going mapping of ‘proximity events’ these apps are intended both to inform public health policy and to provide alerts to individuals who have been in contact with a person with the infection. The proposed use of mobile phone data for ‘intelligent physical distancing’ in such contexts raises a number of important ethical questions. In our paper, we outline some ethical considerations that need to be addressed in any deployment of this kind of approach as part of a multidimensional public health response. We also, briefly, explore the implications for its use in future infectious disease outbreaks

Communicable disease · Computer security · Contact tracing · Disease · GSM services · Internet privacy · Mobile device · Mobile phone · Mobile phone tracking · Mobile technology · Pandemic · Pathology · Phone · Public health · Software deployment · Telecommunications · World Wide Web · Computer Science · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Medicine · Mobile Health and mHealth Applications · Nursing