Tracing COVID-19 cases with Google Timeline?

[grarpamp]

On 2/21/20, jim bell <jdb10987 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I am surprised that when I do a Google search for 'COVID-19 "google
> timeline" ', I see essentially no results.

Maybe Google has the answer and wants to monetize it first, lol :)

> I simply point out that there are a lot of people out there scared of this virus

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/t0221-cdc-telebriefing-covid-19.mp3

Given growing worldwide distributions, and higher ~10% kill rate,
it's probably reasonable to start casually avoiding some needless
exposure to potential outgroups... travelers, barkeeps, attendants,
random new people, that sort of thing. Game the shopping and
work plans, etc. Or at least be able to do such survival thinking
now if needed later.

> and probably be looking for a way to
> determine if their paths have crossed with a victim, even if that victim
> wasn't symptomatic for 1-2 weeks after the contact.  So at some point, I
> think there will be discussion of this possibility.

> The data is already
> being collected, in all Android phones (is there an Apple equivalent?)

The telcos already have the SIM and IMEI association to towers,
the triangulation, the SMS ability. Google and Apple and app
companies already collect tons of GPS data.

> In principle, if a new infectee is identified, it would be technically possible
> to work backwards, figure out where he has been over the relevant period,
> and find anybody who was close to him during a multi-week period.

The NSA GCHQ and AI gigacorps already have the bigdata tools
to sift the location combinatrics out of that, already running it
on their own non-bughunting tasks over similar datasets.

Wouldn't be too hard to create some matching tool
that users could use.

> If epidemiologists were to ask a patient, "tell us where and
> when you've been each minute over the last 15 days"  the vast majority of
> these victims wouldn't have a prayer of providing that information.

Companies and health systems are certainly already being
tasked on this, at least using those traditional methods and public
health data.

If it gets really bloody, it's safe to presume there will be public calls
to open up the private / secret databanks. But will such calls succeed?
And would the data actually do any timely accurate good up
against a raging epidemic?

That type of integration hasn't been done before
so it is likely to fail the first time around.

>  Suppose you receive a text or email notification that you were in a small
> store, 5 days ago, with a person who just developed symptoms of COVID-19.
> You MIGHT be infected.   So, you MIGHT want to take
> ...
> you not get sick, maybe you'd be able to avoid transmitting the virus to
> many others.  (My speculation...)   And maybe you'll live, when you
> otherwise wouldn't.
>
> We Cypherpunks are SUPPOSED to be more concerned, than average, about the
> privacy and freedom implications of technologies.  What I have described,
> above, might be handled in a completely-voluntary fashion.  But, we want to
> ensure that this doesn't turn into a permanent form of tracking.  So we
> should debate the implications of all this, ideally before everyone else is
> talking about it.


Privacy and voluntary options can actually help beat epidemics.
Suppose people could get the data of their contact history (or
maybe they were running their own distributed voluntary p2p
WiFi proximity contact loggers and messaging apps),
or get tested, or receive treatment, completely anonymously,
just give them a unique ID number, no real ID asked.

Somewhat like the HIV epidemic or any other illness,
sometimes people want to know first, so they can come
to terms with it in a minute, then do what they have to do.

Imagine some high society tabloid person, or anyone really,
fucked an infected whore, or was getting coked up with Trump,
whatever the deal... are they really going to volunteer that path.

Maybe people want to self-confine at home and order
food delivery, instead of risk catching MRSA in hospital.

If I knew or thought I had some corona air/surface/touch
transmissible death plague, I'd immediately remove myself from
all such human contact, other than medical care, and tell the
hospital people to just throw the syringes to me from afar :)
Humans can be pretty cool like that.

Who but a psycho asshole would really want to knowingly
subject other people to such potential demise. Nothing
will stop them, or from doing other things.

Healthcare systems are often way more intrusive than they
need to be.

Many countries you can't even pay cash and sign a liability
release, to get an anonymous physical exam, a simple MRI,
some bloodwork, stitches, surgery, cancer, etc.
Nothing transmissible or involving someone else, or even
statistically trackworthy outlier condition, just routine shit.

Consider blood donation... it all gets screened before infusion.
They scream for donors, yet forbid anonymous donations,
won't even hand out a random seeded ID number so that
donors could voluntarily and privately check on their own bags.
What lot of good calling donors up is going to do after docs
already infused someone with a new bug. Just accept they'll
add a screen for that and move on. Quota demand solved.

Medical systems are also quietly giving and selling
DNA and data on the backside. Just like telecoms,
Facebook, Alexa, Ring, etc.

Unfortunately, like "temporary" taxes and laws,
too often turn out to be permanent.

Consider making the ones who dreamed up to call
and idea for tracking [forcing over/upon others],
but provided it is merited, not allow them to be
the ones who are running it and in control of
shutting it down. Let the trackees be the
authoritave brokers and pullback of their own data.

Just like #OpenAudit an #OpenFab, if some random
observer can't point to a reasonable problem and shut
it down, you're the one that gets backdoored.

> I would be surprised if Google isn't already considering something like
> this.  They have much of the data to do so.   They might hesitate to
> announce such an idea, for fear that people would think this is some sort of
> generalized people-tracking system.