Explaining Support for COVID-19 Cell Phone Contact Tracing

Ludovic Rheault,Andreea Musulan

doi:10.1017/s0008423921000019

Abstract

AbstractContact tracing applications have been deployed at a fast pace around the world to stop the spread of COVID-19 and may be key to containing future pandemics. This study aims to explain public opinion toward cell phone contact tracing using a survey experiment. We build upon a theory in evolutionary psychology—disease avoidance—to predict how media coverage of the pandemic affects public support for containment measures. We report three key findings. First, exposure to a news item that shows people ignoring social distancing rules causes an increase in support for cell phone contact tracing. Second, pre-treatment covariates such as anxiety and a belief that other people are not following the rules rank among the strongest predictors of support for COVID-19 apps. And third, while a majority of respondents approve of the reliance on cell phone contact tracing, concerns for rights and freedoms remain a salient preoccupation.

Highlights

Containing a pandemic like the coronavirus has brought the state back into the daily life of citizens, to an extent arguably not seen in decades
Our results show that perceptions of other people flouting social distancing rules—both stimulated by the treatment and self-reported—are a key determinant of support for cell phone contact tracing
We argue that exposing the public to the notion that COVID-19 will infect a majority of the population should reduce support for containment measures, especially mandatory cell phone contact tracing

Summary

Introduction

Containing a pandemic like the coronavirus has brought the state back into the daily life of citizens, to an extent arguably not seen in decades. Cell phone contact tracing apps—applications designed to facilitate the process of contact tracing—encapsulate such a trade-off These apps have the potential to protect the public while avoiding the need for large-scale restrictions on economic activities during a pandemic (Ferretti et al, 2020; Peak et al, 2020; WHO, 2020). The COVID Alert app launched by the Canadian federal government in July of 2020 is voluntary and designed with privacy protection features. It attracted less than five million users in three months, or roughly 12.5 per cent of the population (Canada, 2020). Since the effectiveness of these apps depends on the rate of adoption (Braithwaite et al, 2020), understanding public opinion on this question is key for a successful implementation

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