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April 3, 2020

Civil Liberties at Risk as Authorities Deploy Invasive Technologies to Contain Virus
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The coronavirus pandemic has unleashed new technologies that are
challenging civil liberties like never before.

In San Francisco, the founder and CEO of the videoconferencing company
Zoom apologized Wednesday over software flaws that have allowed hackers
to steal passwords, to join private calls and even to hijack Mac users'
webcams and microphones. Zoom has seen a sudden surge of nearly 200
million daily users working and studying remotely.

In Tunisia, police are remotely operating robots - equipped with
cameras, microphones and loudspeakers - to check residents' IDs while
enforcing a lockdown in the capital Tunis.

Indonesian authorities are using drones to spray disinfectant in some
residential neighborhoods, raising concerns over privacy and toxic
chemicals.

South Korea's government has collected massive amounts of cellphone data
to create a public map warning residents if they've come into contact
with someone who has COVID-19.

In Israel, the high-tech firm NSO Group is promoting software that would
assign every person a 1-to-10 ranking of how likely they are to carry
the virus. NSO Group previously developed spyware known as Pegasus,
which allows hackers to turn on a cellphone's camera and microphone and
to trawl through personal data and messages. NSO Group is being sued by
Whats App after the malware was discovered on the phones of human rights
activists and journalists, including a Saudi dissident close to murdered
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.