  Technology is uniquely positioned to help us analyze large amounts of
information to provide valuable insight during widespread public health
concerns, like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, information technology
companies like Apple and Google have recently launched tools for contact
tracing-the ability to process location data to determine the people who have
been in contact with a possible patient, in order to contain the spread of the
virus. While China and Singapore have successfully led the effort, more and
more countries are now implementing such surveillance systems, raising
potential privacy concerns about this long term surveillance. For example, it
is not clear what happens to the information post-pandemic because people are
more likely to share their information during a global crisis without
governments having to elaborate on their data policies. Digital Ethnography on
Twitter, which has over 330 million users worldwide, with a majority in the
United States where the pandemic has the worst effects provides a unique
opportunity to learn about real-time opinions of the general public about
current affairs in a rather naturalistic setting. Consequently, it might be
useful to highlight the privacy concerns of users, should they exist, through
analysis of Twitter data and information sharing policies during unprecedented
public health outbreaks. This will allow governments to protect their citizens
both during and after health emergencies.
