Public acceptance of Privacy-Encroaching Policies to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The nature of the COVID-19 pandemic may require governments to use privacy-encroaching technologies to help contain its spread. One technology involves co-location tracking through mobile Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth to permit health agencies to monitor people's contact with each other, thereby triggering targeted social-distancing when a person turns out to be infected. The effectiveness of tracking relies on the willingness of the population to support such privacy encroaching measures. We report the results of two large surveys in the United Kingdom, conducted during the peak of the pandemic, that probe people's attitudes towards various tracking technologies. The results show that by and large there is widespread acceptance for co-location tracking. Acceptance increases when the measures are explicitly time-limited and come with opt-out clauses or other assurances of privacy. Another possible future technology to control the pandemic involves "immunity passports", which could be issued to people who carry antibodies for the COVID-19 virus, potentially implying that they are immune and therefore unable to spread the virus to other people. Immunity passports have been considered as a potential future step to manage the pandemic. We probe people's attitudes towards immunity passports and find considerable support overall, although around 20% of the public strongly oppose passports.

Behavioural responses to Covid-19 health certification: A rapid review

“…Of the types of intervention that were the focus of studies, 2 concerned test-negative result for current infectiousness, 14 concerned test-positive for antibodies conferring natural immunity, and 17 concerned vaccination(s) conferring immunity. The majority of studies related to Covid-19 (31), with one concerning yellow fever, and one other concerning u vaccinations.…”

Public Views about COVID-19 “Immunity Passports”

“…We conducted a national survey of U.S. adults in late June 2020 using the on-line survey panel, Prolific Academic, which has demonstrated good reliability and validity in prior studies. 4,13,14 We selected 1315 respondents using a quota system that approximated nationally-representative demographics by sex, age groups, and race-ethnicity (eTable 1).…”

“…Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of immunity certifications (or “passports”) was introduced as a means to lift public health restrictions on recovered patients who might be considered safe from reinfection or further viral spread. 1,2 Despite some thoughtful support, 3,4 the idea quickly encountered substantial opposition, based partly on concerns about social fairness. 5,6 Scientific uncertainty over the extent of acquired immunity was another chilling factor.…”

“…12 Firms are developing smart technologies that allow recovered or vaccinated individuals to verify their presumptively safe status. 4 Airlines are considering immunity certification to promote safer travel. And employers face economic and regulatory pressures to triage higher-exposure functions.…”

Industry and workplace characteristics associated with the use of a COVID-19 contact tracing app in Japan: a nation-wide employee survey

“…5 The acceptance rate of contact tracing apps has been found to range from 42% to 70% in developed countries. [6][7][8] Several factors influence this acceptance: trust in the government, health concerns, privacy, battery usage, and concerns about the effectiveness of the app. 7 In Japan, employers have promoted the use the COCOA among workers for effective contact tracing to prevent workplace COVID-19 clusters.…”