Use of Geolocalization Technology to Track COVID-19

Date: April 29, 2020

Classification: Unclassified

Branch/Agency: PS/NCSB

Issue:

Media coverage on the use of technology such as cellphones to track coronavirus infections in Canada; Quebec Premier François Legault said that Quebec provincial police were considering using this technology.

Proposed Response:

Background:

The use of geolocalization technology to track COVID-19 cases and to inform people that they may have been in contact with an infected person is in place in many jurisdictions.

In the U.S, technology giants Google and Apple are developing apps to track cases of coronavirus.

Summary of Media Coverage on the use of technology

In an April 10 article titled “Canada Looking to Prepare ‘Surge’ Force, Use Cellphone Data to Contain COVID 19”, the National Post outlines federal and provincial health officials’ efforts to recruit people to increase capacity and explore technological options such as the use of cellphone data for contact tracing. The article notes that actions are being taken by both provincial and federal health officials to strengthen capacity and contact tracing in Canada. For example, provinces are recruiting medical students and retired health workers while the federal government is creating a national inventory database for provinces to use if needed. The federal government is also creating a “surge capacity” of staff ready to be deployed, as needed, in regions with a new outbreak.

On the technological front, various media articles cover the role technology could play in contact tracing and discussions are being held among health officials on the best course of action domestically. The use of cellphone location data is one of the main topics of the discussion.

The discussion on the use of technology to fight COVID-19 has garnered a debate amid privacy experts and civil liberties advocates in Canada. Concerns raised as part the debate on the use of technology include privacy rights, limits on data retention and use, voluntary use, and consent.

According to the Guardian (Apr. 20, 2020), a group of nearly 300 scientists and researchers from 26 countries issued an open letter in which they stated that the success of contact tracing via technology will depend on such technology built specifically to respect user privacy. They argue that without this safeguard, use of this technology could result in the surveillance of the public by governments and the private sector. They also warned that contact tracing would fail if people do not install the software on their phone because of mistrust regarding how their data will be used. These concerns are raised in a number of international and domestic media outlets including the National Post (Apr. 1, & 10, 2020), Globe and Mail (Apr. 9 & 20, 2020), Financial Post (Apr. 14, 2010), and CBC (Apr. 17, 2020).

In Canada, media coverage on contact tracing is limited to the use of social media platforms in relation to privacy and civil liberties concerns rather than the role of security and intelligence agencies.

Security and intelligence

Canada’s National Security and Intelligence (NSI) community has been engaged on COVID 19 since its first emergence. As stated by the Prime Minister, the Government “had meetings of the incident response group as of late January to talk about the COVID-19 potential threat. We were well coordinated with our Five Eyes allies and other intelligence services around the world and being aware of this potential challenge on the horizon and were dealing with it as of the end of January.”

The NSI community, where possible, supports the efforts of public health officials by leveraging its various mandates and authorities and contributes in other significant ways where mandates and authorities do not permit direct involvement. For example, while the mandate of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to investigate threats to the security of Canada (e.g. espionage and sabotage, terrorism, and subversion) does not permit it to support the Public Health agency of Canada’s data collection or analysis efforts to track the impact of the COVID 19, it has been providing general expertise to them on data analytics as part of the whole-of-government response to the pandemic.

The national security and intelligence community is engaged with Five Eyes allies and other intelligence partners to better understand state and regional responses to the pandemic in order to contribute to a more complete global picture and inform Canada’s response. The community also remains focused on threats that may be heightened during the pandemic, including to economic security interests and from the spread of misinformation.

The security and intelligence community will continue to identify ways in which it can contribute meaningfully to the whole-of-government response to the pandemic.

Federal funding coverage

On April 23rd, the Prime Minister committed over $1 billion for a national medical and research strategy, which includes vaccine development, the production of treatments, and tracking to address COVID-19. Of this fund, CTV News reported that:

Contacts:

Prepared by: NCSD

Approved by: Dominic Rochon, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, National and Cyber Security Branch, 613-990-4976

Date modified: