Truth Theory: [2] In recent weeks, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been taking more interviews than usual, discussing the potential privacy risks that can come along with the technology being used to track down and isolate coronavirus patients. In a new interview with Vice, Snowden details the electronic “contact tracing” that has been implemented by governments in places like China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Very similar contact tracing programs could be on their way to the United States and Europe, according to health officials.
[3] Governments in some of the first countries affected by the outbreak have collected cellphone data as a part of their coronavirus containment strategy, and then used that data to track down and quarantine individuals who have come into contact with known coronavirus patients.
[4] Any resident that wants to leave their house is required to download a cellphone app that keeps a record of their health, and their phone’s GPS will be configured to recognize if its owner comes within a certain range of a known coronavirus patient.

If you have one of these apps downloaded on your phone and you come into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, you will receive a notification or text message letting you know that you have been exposed and the message will instruct you to quarantine in your home for two weeks. If you refuse to comply with the quarantine, the authorities will know, because your cellphone will be set to notify them if you leave a certain perimeter. Leaving home without a phone isn’t an option either, because these apps are also used to gain entry to grocery stores and other businesses.

While the world is facing a unique challenge in containing the coronavirus, Snowden is concerned that governments have ulterior motives for the surveillance systems that they are creating to combat the pandemic.