In a Pandemic, Data Privacy Goes Out the Window
What you need to know about your privacy as the coronavirus spreads
In most circumstances, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a pretty benign organization. Sure, it gets all the cool toys — Biosafety Level 4 labs, high-powered electron microscopes, and the like. But most of the time, the scope of its activities is limited to such niceties as compiling flu statistics, publishing beautiful scientific images, and reminding you to wash your hands.
During a pandemic like the current coronavirus outbreak, all that changes. The CDC, as well as state public health departments, take on remarkably broad powers. Public health officials can detain you, force you into quarantine, and even search your phone, read your emails, and access your personal data.
To understand the CDC’s authority, it helps to take a brief step back and consider the laws surrounding public health in the United States.
Public health officials can detain you, force you into quarantine, and even search your phone, read your emails, and access your personal data.
Like much of the U.S. legal system, public health law is a tangled web of federal…
