Chicago’s Anonymous Cell Phone Tracking Should Not Raise Privacy Concerns

April 22, 2020

Ultimately, we control who follows us on mobile devices.

The current global health crisis has re-ignited the controversy over whether personal data is secure, with a growing number believing their online activity is being tracked by both technology firms and the government with a chilling regularity.  It is such a common condition, many consumers have developed concerns over the risks involved with data collection, whether the risks outweigh the benefits of technology, and apprehension over how personal data is used by both tech companies and the government.

To blunt the coronavirus, the federal government, states, and cities have issued a raft of guidelines which have affected almost every aspect of American life, placing broad checks on communal activity and on the conditions under which businesses and public institutions are able to eventually resume operation.  In some states, Michigan for example, the guidelines have resembled house arrest and have been greeted with a series of protests.  In Chicago, a share of Mayor Lightfoot’s strategy to confront COVID-19 included collaboration with firms which use a range of tracking and surveillance technologies to analyze data culled from mobile devices.  A matter which resurrects the endless conversation over personal privacy, though the data the city received is limited to geolocation tracking and not facial-recognition technology, the analysis of this data has elicited a predictable backlash and some panicked responses have suggested every minute of every day, everywhere on the planet countless technology firms are recording the every move of tens of millions of mobile phone users and warehousing the data in mammoth data files.  Moreover, many are inclined to believe this occurs with the approval of the government, which, they assert, neglects to scrutinize or regulate the technology sector.  Alarmism, there is no need for concern over Chicago peeking through keyholes:  The data in the hands of the City of Chicago to assist with combating COVID-19 was authorized by users.

To aid in the struggle against COVID-19, the City of Chicago was recently revealed to have enlisted the assistance of Canadian infectious disease data analytics firm, BlueDot.  Through BlueDot’s partnership with data collection company SafeGraph, Chicago was able to determine most Chicago residents were obeying the citywide stay-at-home order.  That Chicago was able to learn from both BlueDot and SafeGraph Chicagoans were largely remaining in their homes was the result of the development of technology which monitors anonymized location pings emitted from mobile devices.  Once detected, BlueDot and SafeGraph were able to provide authorities in Chicago with evidence large concentrations of phones, thus people, were not gathering in areas of attraction or other public spaces.  The fact BlueDot and SafeGraph were able to track residents is the outcome of device users authorizing the tracking of their movements.

“We don’t know, nor would we get, specific information about cell phone users so I don’t think there’s any privacy issues. And it’s dependent upon one’s use of applications and then allowing access related to location,” Mayor Lightfoot said.

The collection of data the sort of which Chicago acquired is quite simple.  A perfectly legal method designed for marketing purposes, technology firms plant software modules in applications which are installed by a user on a phone or mobile device.  Once installed, the applications request permission from the user to access location and device status.  If the user authorizes such a request, data such as geolocation and the time spent in a location, particularly near points of interest, is captured by either a Base Transceiver Station, a WiFi network, or a global positioning system.  Though this often occurs innocently and perhaps is at odds with a mobile device user’s intent, this data is sold to create a revenue stream for those who develop applications for mobile phones.

Despite the fact technology has often come under criticism for being disruptive or representing a threat to habit or limiting freedom, the data harvested for the City of Chicago posed no threat to individual liberty and did not strengthen city government.  While some questions over whether Chicago continues its relationship with firms such as BlueDot and SafeGraph once the pandemic recedes or if the surveillance measures will be removed and data deleted linger, the information collected to track residents was anonymous and collected with user consent.

While there is always room to criticize Chicago’s government, particularly over its crime epidemic and its fiscal insanity, the collection of phone data is no such case.  The burden to prevent the collection of data from taking place rests entirely with the user, who could actively disable access to mobile devices on all applications, limit permission to applications installed, and only use applications when it is completely necessary.

Related Posts

No items found.

SUBSCRIBE