Four governments, China, South Korea, the US, and Israel, have been looking at implementing intrusive surveillance systems to track the spread of COVID-19. China and South Korea have already put into action an extensive citizen tracking system, while the US and Israel are exploring similar surveillance measures. China is the leader when it comes to tracking measures in use as it pertains to the pandemic, with programs such as the Great Firewall, which was in use long before the virus began.
China also has a ubiquitous street surveillance system as well as the Health Code color system and the Hong Kong tracking bracelets, the latter two of which were implemented after the outbreak began. Beijing has used its massive collection of censors and unhindered control over the Chinese internet to command the narrative surrounding the disease, both internally and externally. China’s systems removed initial mentions of the outbreak, later realizing that the issue could not be contained and switching over to removing posts that criticized the government.
Read More: US, Israel, South Korea, and China look at intrusive surveillance solutions for tracking COVID-19
