Research group uses smartphone data to see if COVID-19 policies are working


Tech companies can't treat COVID-19 patients or immunize people from the coronavirus, but they have been trying to help public health officials track the spread of the disease. While Apple and Google's contract tracing collaboration requires buy-in from cellphone users, an independent group of researchers created the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network to watch how people are behaving on a larger scale using anonymized data from Facebook and online ad and analytics firms like Camber Systems and Cuebiq. The researchers then use that data to help public health officials form and calibrate their COVID-19 mitigation measures.
The COVID-19 Mobility Data Network won't replace contact tracers, co-founder and data scientist Andrew Schroeder tells Stat News. "The most important aspect of contact tracing is community trust. You don't need an app to solve that problem. What you need is people. You don't have to have highly trained people, you just need a bunch of them, and trust, so people will talk to them." Facebook's Data for Good program, he added, "gives us a close to real-time view of large-scale population change."
"You need both approaches," the individual tracing and the macro movement, Schroeder said, "and you can marry low-tech and high-tech solutions."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One of the things the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network can discern is how many people in a given ZIP code, county, or city are maintaining social distance, Schroeder explained. "We've seen a pretty clear correlation between accelerated timelines to reopen in specific areas and changes in case count. If you look at Alabama, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio — all places where they changed social distancing orders at earlier stages — you now see a turnaround in the case rate," from falling at the beginning of May to rising now.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
August 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include FEMA's new scheme, Gavin Newsom's antics, and a clue in the Epstein files
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year