Civil liberties activists are warning that the use of these powerful surveillance technologies by governments could set a dangerous precedent.
Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the head of a country that prides itself on promotion of human rights and individual liberty internationally, is not ruling out the use of mobile phone tracking to enforce quarantine of those affected by the virus.
The danger is that supposedly democratic governments that get total control of large parts of society as a result of measures to contain COVID-19 may be tempted to do the same with the key democratic institutions.