What are the ethical considerations in the use of digital surveillance technologies in public health and safety?

Ethical Considerations in the Use of Digital Surveillance Technologies in Public Health and Safety

The use of digital surveillance technologies in public health and safety has become increasingly prevalent, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These technologies offer significant benefits for early detection, monitoring, and control of infectious diseases. However, they also raise numerous ethical concerns that need to be carefully addressed to ensure they are used responsibly and equitably.

Key Insights from Research Papers

Privacy and Confidentiality Concerns:
- Digital surveillance systems often lack adequate privacy protections, leading to potential exposure of sensitive personal data such as movements and contacts .
- The use of passive data from mobile phones and other devices raises significant privacy issues, necessitating robust frameworks to protect individual data .
Trust and Public Participation:
- Trust in digital surveillance systems is unevenly distributed across society, with some populations being more skeptical about data use and privacy .
- Public concerns about inadequate information and unclear governance frameworks can hinder participation and trust in these systems .
Equity and Inclusion:
- Digital surveillance technologies can exacerbate existing health disparities by underrepresenting vulnerable and at-risk populations, potentially widening the digital divide .
- Ethical frameworks must ensure that these technologies do not disproportionately impact marginalized groups and that they promote justice and equity .
Informed Consent and Autonomy:
- The implementation of electronic consent mechanisms is crucial to respect participants' autonomy and ensure they are fully informed about how their data will be used .
- In some cases, collecting health data without patient consent is justified for the greater public good, but this must be balanced with ethical principles to protect individual rights.
Governance and Ethical Frameworks:
- There is a need for clear and transparent governance structures to oversee the use of digital surveillance technologies, ensuring they are used ethically and responsibly .
- Developing interdisciplinary capacity in research ethics committees is essential to address the complex ethical challenges posed by these technologies .
Potential for Abuse and Misuse:
- Surveillance technologies can be perceived as tools of social control, raising concerns about their potential misuse and the implications for human dignity and freedom .
- Ethical discussions must address the balance between the benefits of surveillance for public health and the risks of abuse and stigmatization .

Conclusion

The ethical considerations in the use of digital surveillance technologies in public health and safety are multifaceted and complex. Key concerns include privacy and confidentiality, trust and public participation, equity and inclusion, informed consent and autonomy, governance and ethical frameworks, and the potential for abuse and misuse. Addressing these issues requires robust ethical frameworks, transparent governance, and a commitment to protecting individual rights while leveraging the benefits of digital surveillance for public health.

Try another search

celebrity culture on the youth

The impact of urbanization on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and urban heat island effects.

How do social connections and relationships impact physical health and longevity?

What is the difference between classical and quantum physics?

Does Icelandic have articles?

What are the symptoms of chikungunya?

What are the ethical considerations in the use of digital surveillance technologies in public health and safety?

Summary

Ethical Considerations in the Use of Digital Surveillance Technologies in Public Health and Safety

Key Insights from Research Papers

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Ethics, Integrity, and Retributions of Digital Detection Surveillance Systems for Infectious Diseases: Systematic Literature Review

Digital surveillance for infectious diseases faces ethical concerns, including inadequate information, unclear governance, and potential privacy issues.

Ethics and governance for digital disease surveillance

Digital epidemiology in public health surveillance during epidemics raises ethical concerns, but using new data sources like cellphones, wearables, and social media can be ethically justifiable and obligatory.

Participatory Disease Surveillance Systems: Ethical Framework

Participatory surveillance systems using digital platforms and mobile apps face ethical challenges, including electronic consent, privacy protection, justice promotion, and interdisciplinary capacity building.

Big brother is watching you--the ethical implications of electronic surveillance measures in the elderly with dementia and in adults with learning difficulties

Electronic surveillance technologies may provide security for vulnerable individuals like the elderly with dementia and those with learning disabilities, but their ethical implications for human rights and civil liberties must be considered.

Passive Data Use for Ethical Digital Public Health Surveillance in a Postpandemic World

Passive data use for digital public health surveillance in the postpandemic era presents ethical challenges in informed consent, privacy, equity, and ownership.

Social Media- and Internet-Based Disease Surveillance for Public Health.

Social media and internet-based data collection offers untapped opportunities for public health surveillance, but requires improved integration, validation, and ethical considerations for optimal results.

Ethics, Integrity, and Retributions of Digital Detection Surveillance Systems for Infectious Diseases: Systematic Literature Review (Preprint)

Digital surveillance systems for infectious diseases may have ethical concerns, such as inadequate information, unclear governance, and potential privacy issues.

Online Public Health Intelligence: Ethical Considerations at the Big Data Era

Big Data in public health can improve surveillance and interventions, but ethical considerations are needed to mitigate potential privacy and autonomy concerns and ensure safe implementation.

Video Surveillance in Mental Health Facilities: Is it Ethical?

Video surveillance in mental health facilities can reduce violent and aggressive behavior, but may diminish privacy and raise ethical concerns.

Health Information in the Background: Justifying Public Health Surveillance Without Patient Consent

Public health surveillance without patient consent is ethical and legal, allowing the government to protect the health of the population while maintaining individual and community dignity.

Try another search