How Big Tech is dictating the terms of the coronavirus response to national governments

On Monday the six Bay Area counties announced that they would extend stay-at-home orders through May, citing ongoing difficulties in preparing for future spikes in new cases. A prominent question as elected officials attempt to govern through the next several months is to what extent they will rely on technology solutions to help them identify possible infections. Over the weekend, we saw a variety of ideas on this subject begin to play out around the world.

First, Apple and Google announced some changes to their collaboration on a system-level API for public health authorities, which will use people’s smartphones to inform them when they have been in the presence of someone who is later diagnosed with COVID-19. The changes are largely...

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