Tech companies could face more pressure to share location data with governments to fight coronavirus

By now most Americans have gotten the message that, as much as possible, they need to stay away from everyone else. In San Francisco and a growing number of other cities around the world, all non-essential travel has been banned. Even in cases where life more closely resembles normalcy, the government has encouraged social distancing. And if anyone in your life isn’t yet under self-quarantine, sending them this brutal essay by Jeff Wise ought to do the trick. It’s a plausible account of how you might contract COVID-19 even while doing your best to wash your hands and minimize social contacts; the prose is so sharp and severe that I almost found it cruel.

OK, so you’re social distancing; I’m social distancing. How’s everyone else doing?...

Continue reading…