Data privacy is as critical in a public health crisis as ever – if not more so. Schellman & Company President Avani Desai discusses what companies can do to ensure data privacy remains a focal point in the organization’s strategy.
It’s official: we’re living through the world’s latest pandemic. And while valuable guidelines and regulations are infiltrating our lives from governments and specialized agencies such as the World Health Organization in order to keep us healthy, organizations and individuals are faced with another unprecedented concern: What about data privacy?
According to directions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and as laid out by the 1944 Public Health Service Act, public health authorities are one court order away from obtaining almost any data they want about any of us.[1] During a pandemic like the current COVID-19 outbreak, the true scope of the CDC’s powers are brought to life and can be enforced; according to the CDC manual, should the need arise, public health officials can investigate or detain you, force you into quarantine and access, confiscate or destroy personal devices and data. [2] They’ve got “police powers.”
Of course, such authority stems from the government’s core duty to protect public health and safety,…
