|
 The
analysis of location data from billions of Google users' phones is
the largest public dataset available to help health authorities
assess if people are abiding with shelter-in-place and similar
orders issued across the world to rein in the virus.
The company released reports for 131 countries with charts that
compare traffic from Feb. 16 to March 29 to retail and recreational
venues, train and bus stations, grocery stores and workplaces with a
five-week period earlier this year.
Google said it published the reports to avoid any confusion about
what it was providing to authorities, given the global debate that
has emerged about balancing privacy-invasive location tracking with
the need to prevent further outbreaks.
The data often correlated with the severity of outbreaks and the
harshness and breadth of orders imposed by governments.
Italy and Spain, two of the hardest-hit countries, both saw visits
to retail and recreation locations such as restaurants and movie
theaters plunge 94%. The United Kingdom, France and Philippines had
declines of more than 80% while India, which went into a sudden
21-day lockdown on March 25, was also notable at 77%.
In the United States, where state responses have varied greatly, and
in Australia, where good weather initially prompted many people to
go the beach before social distancing measures were ratcheted up,
the drops were less steep at under 50%.
In contrast, in Japan and Sweden, where authorities have not imposed
harsh restrictions, visits to retail and recreation sites fell by
roughly only a quarter. While in South Korea, which has successfully
contained a large outbreak through aggressive testing and contact
tracing, the decline was just 19%.
The data also underscore some challenges authorities have faced in
keeping people apart. Grocery store visits surged in Singapore, the
United Kingdom and elsewhere as travel restrictions were set to go
into place. Visits to parks spiked in March in some San Francisco
Bay Area counties under lockdown in California, forcing them to
later put the sites off limits.
The data also underscores how the mood of people around the world
has shifted. In New Orleans, during its annual Mardi Gras
celebrations Feb.16-25, which has with hindsight been criticized for
helping spread the virus, there were off-the-chart increases in
traffic to transit stations, parks and businesses.
But three weeks later in Dublin, heart of St. Patrick's holiday
celebrations, traffic was down at retail and recreational venues as
the country ordered big events canceled.
Within countries, there were wide gaps in behavior by region.
California, which was the first in the U.S. with a statewide
lockdown, cut visits to retail and recreation locations by half. In
New York state, the slide in such visits was gradual as officials
waited to impose strict curbs but they eventually fell 62%. By
contrast, Arkansas, one of the few states without a sweeping
lockdown, had the smallest decline at 29%.
[to top of second column] |
The coronavirus has infected more than 1 million people globally, and COVID-19,
the respiratory illness it causes, has killed 52,000, according to a Reuters
tally.
There were no reports for China and Iran, where Google services are blocked.
BALANCING PRIVACY
Data in Google's reports come from users who enabled Google's "Location History"
feature on their devices. The company said it adopted technical measures to
ensure that no individual could be identified through the new reports.
"These reports have been developed to be helpful while adhering to our stringent
privacy protocols and policies," Dr. Karen DeSalvo, chief health officer for
Google Health and Jen Fitzpatrick, senior vice president for Google Geo, wrote
in a blog post.
China, Singapore, South Korea and other countries have asked residents to use
apps and other technology to track their compliance with quarantines, but
privacy activists argue such measures can compromise individual liberties.
Infectious disease specialists have said analyzing travel across groups by age,
income and other demographics could help shape public service announcements.
Google, which infers demographics from users' internet use as well as some data
given when signing up to Google services, said it was not reporting demographic
information. The company said, though, it was open to including additional
information and countries in follow-up reports.
Google said consultations with officials in the U.S. and the World Health
Organization helped inform the data shared.
The company declined to comment on whether it has received any legal requests to
share more detailed data to help with efforts to tackle the pandemic.
Facebook Inc, which like Google has billions of users, has shared location data
with non-governmental researchers that are producing similar reports for
authorities in several countries. But the social media giant has not published
any findings.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave; Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine in Berlin and
Jonathan Weber, Miyoung Kim and Sayantani Ghosh in Singapore; Editing by Edwina
Gibbs)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
