In coronavirus fight, oft-criticized Facebook data aids U.S. cities, states

A graph based on Facebook location data shared with health officials in New York City, showing a decrease in mobility in March as residents heeded guidance to limit non-essential outings. Nishant Kishore/COVID-19 Mobility Data Network via REUTERS. Article by Katie Paul, Joseph Menn, Paresh Dave. 5 MIN READ

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Infectious disease researchers are using Facebook Inc mobile location data to provide daily updates to U.S. cities and states evaluating the effectiveness of social distancing orders aimed at slowing the novel coronavirus.

The COVID-19 Mobility Data Network, a group of 40 health researchers from universities including Harvard, Princeton and Johns Hopkins, said that since mid-March its members have been sharing insights gleaned from the social media giant’s data with California, Massachusetts and New York City.

Using mobile location data in the coronavirus fight comes amid intense scrutiny of the privacy practices of tech companies, which collect detailed information about people’s interests on apps and websites, often to target ads.

Facebook and the researchers leading the project say they have overcome those concerns by aggregating the data several times over and funneling it through academics. The researchers share broad findings with state and local health departments, which do not receive any raw data. […]

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