COVID-19: Law and Tech Policy

Governments are seeking information on how best to protect citizens from the spread of COVID-19. Multiple technology companies offered to collect data to help governments and citizens with pandemic reduction efforts. Technology companies offer methods of mass data collection and modes of mass communication that they claim can assist in advancing critical public health goals. Privacy experts, however, have warned that the technological solutions offered by some governments and technology corporations may violate the spirit and letter of data privacy laws. In the European Union (EU), for example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was recently enacted to safeguard the information privacy rights of EU citizens. The United States (U.S.), however, like many nations, lacks a uniform and comprehensive data protection plan. There is no omnibus federal law in the U.S. that protects and regulates personal data collection, storage, and processing. Instead, federal data privacy laws enacted within the U.S. designate protection for specific areas of data, such as the protection of health and patient data under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Individual states within the U.S. have enacted broader data privacy protections, for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In the criminal procedure context, the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant.

This seminar will survey multiple technologies that have been deployed to combat COVID-19. It will particularly emphasize the legal and policy implications of pandemic surveillance technologies, such as digital contact tracing through Bluetooth tracking that is enabled by COVID-19 tracing apps. The seminar will focus on the topics of data privacy and cybersecurity, and data ethics. This course satisfies the upper-level writing seminar requirement.