Coronavirus: Google began to observe how individuals comply with the rules in the Covid-19 outbreak

Google began documenting and publishing different trends by tracking people’s movements in 130 countries, even in different parts of the same country, during the coronavirus outbreak period.

The goal of Google, which plans to update this information continuously, is to reveal how the numbers and patterns changed two or three days ago.

In doing so, the company promised to protect the privacy of individuals’ private lives.

Analyzes are created using local data from Google Maps or one of the company’s other mobile phone apps.

How will it do?

Similarly, Google already showed the times when certain museums, shops and some other venues were the most crowded, supporting motor vehicle drivers by updating the traffic density of different roads.

Now the same data will be used to compare the density of people in the locations listed below with the period before curfew limitations.

Retail shops and other places to spend time
Food shops and pharmacies
Parks, beaches and beaches, plazas
Bus, metro and train stations
Office buildings and other work places
Homes
Google hopes this information will assist health officials and other experts in their planning to combat the outbreak.

“This information can help authorities understand people’s mobility patterns and shape their advice on issues such as working hours, or home hours,” the company blog says.

Likewise, it is thought that this information may also create data for preventing crowd measures such as putting an additional bus or train service.

Concerns about personal information

The company says that users’ records will be kept anonymously and hidden in other randomly generated data for the protection of individual information, and those who do not want it may refuse to provide information.

As a result, data collected by Google will demonstrate the extent to which the advice or ban on staying in a home area has been followed 48 hours ago.

However, this data itself has the potential to change people’s movements. They can avoid crowded places by seeing the data, and many people can decide to go out themselves, thinking that they are outside.

Initial data: Differences between the British and the French

The preliminary data are from March 29 and compares the human movements of that day with the five-week period between January 3 and February 6. As an example, the restrictions in England and France and the different results it creates can be seen.

The results of this comparison in the UK are as follows:

Going to shopping and time spent 85 percent less
46 percent less travel to food shops and pharmacies
52 percent less going to parks
Crowd at stops and stations 75 percent less
55 percent less going to work
15 higher in residences
The same data gives different results for France:

88 percent less going to shopping and time
Going to food shops and pharmacies is 72 percent less
Going to parks 82 percent less
87 percent less crowded in stops and stations
56 percent less going to work
18 higher in residences
Google’s new data collection and analysis statement came a day after European Union Justice Minister Vera Jourova’s call to tech giant companies.

Jourova had asked companies to share information they gathered with scientists to combat the virus.

The EU Minister of Justice also criticized major technology companies for not making enough efforts to prevent fraudulent news and information.