Israel is using the location of smartphones to monitor the spread of coronavirus

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, authorized the country's internal security agency to use data collected from the population's mobile phones to combat the coronavirus. According to a report put forward by the New York Times, the date is being used to monitor the movement of infected people and to identify citizens who are not complying with the quarantine.

The data set being used comprises records collected since 2002. The agency, also known as Shin Bet, is authorized to use this information during the next 30 days.

In practice, the government wants to send messages directly to individuals who are not respecting the quarantine, ordering them to do so. The executive believes that the media can be efficient, since, when crossing the location of these data, it is possible to assess whoever was in contact (or close) with an infected person.

The agency did not clarify, specifically, what data it is using, but in conversation with a group of experts, the Times concluded that the executive is able to know the location of virtually everyone who lives in the country.

After announcing this decision, Netanyahua affirmed that he is trying to "preserve the balance between individual freedoms and the general needs of the population". A spokesman for the agency assured the American newspaper that the data will be used in a "focused and limited time" manner.