Open AccessSmart Pandemic Surveillance?: A Neo-Materialist Analysis of the “Monitora Covid-19” Application in Brazil
Author(s) -
André Lemos,
Rodrigo Firmino,
Daniel Marques,
Eurico Matos,
Catarina Lopes
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
surveillance and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.781
H-Index - 46
ISSN - 1477-7487
DOI - 10.24908/ss.v20i1.14282
Subject(s) - materialism , covid-19 , pandemic , big data , perspective (graphical) , data protection act 1998 , control (management) , internet privacy , computer security , political science , public relations , business , sociology , law , computer science , management , economics , medicine , philosophy , disease , epistemology , pathology , artificial intelligence , infectious disease (medical specialty) , operating system
This article discusses smart surveillance based on the particular case of the Brazilian mobile app Monitora Covid-19 from the perspective of issues related to personal-data protection. Brazil is today one of the epicenters of the pandemic. The application under analysis is the tip of a wide network of data monitoring and medical assistance formed by public and private institutions. Based on a neo-materialist analysis of this network, this article discusses the use of surveillance technologies and data during the period of the pandemic; describes and comments on visible, discursive, and hidden materialities; and indicates the main issues of the application in the use and protection of users’ personal data. In conclusion, it indicates some of the application’s flaws in relation to personal-data protection. More broadly, it reinforces the need for the creation of publicly controlled regulatory bodies for smart surveillance systems that are able to oversee the application of (public and private) technologies with ethical assurances and public control.