Individual freedom must be protected even in the post-COVID era

As the COVID-19 crisis has dragged on, many changes have taken place in our daily lives. We have grown accustomed to receiving safety text alerts from the quarantine authorities several times a day and checking the movements of confirmed COVID-19 patients. It has long since become an important part of our routine to use hand sanitizer and wear a mask when going out, and to stop by a pharmacy to purchase government-distributed masks.

The “COVID-19 pandemic” prompted active quarantine measures by governments around the world. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, countries restricted the free movement of their citizens and even closed their borders. Offices and factories came to a halt, while schools, private academies, sports facilities, and other multi-use facilities shut their doors. The perception spread that this was an unprecedented crisis.

With neither treatment nor preventive vaccine available, millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths occurred worldwide, heightening public fear to the extreme. Even if each individual does their utmost to prevent infection, transmission from others within the community remains possible. For that reason, citizens have accepted inconvenience and joined in “social distancing,” following quarantine guidelines such as wearing masks when going out. This is done out of consideration for one another and to protect the community. Given the nature of public health and sanitation, there is an unavoidable aspect to health authorities presenting appropriate guidelines suited to the situation and citizens following them.

One troubling point, however, is that in the name of quarantine, violations of individual freedom have begun, and people are starting to accept those violations as natural. Every day, we unhesitatingly receive the personal information of confirmed patients sent by the quarantine authorities. In addition, we frequently receive text messages about mask-wearing, handwashing, and other daily prevention rules, and when we travel to another area, we receive safety alerts sent by that local government. In effect, all of us have become subjects of surveillance and control by the quarantine authorities.

Human rights violations against people infected with or exposed to the coronavirus have reached a serious level. One may willingly accept mandatory hospitalization and treatment for confirmed patients as a member of the community, for the sake of treatment and preventing further spread. However, tracing an individual’s communication records, credit card transaction history, and even CCTV footage in the name of blocking infection, while also publicly disclosing personal information in detail—including nationality, age, sex, occupation, residence, and places visited—is excessive. As a result, it has even led to public criticism of individuals and certain groups. Some have gone so far as to say that having one’s personal information disclosed is more frightening than being infected with the coronavirus itself.

Location tracking of people in self-quarantine is also a clear violation of human rights. Those in self-quarantine are required to install an application on their mobile phones that enables location tracking, and if they violate the guidelines and leave without authorization, they must wear a tracking band on their body. Even Western European countries such as France, the United Kingdom, and Norway, which place the highest value on individual freedom, introduced location-tracking applications for surveillance and control because of COVID-19. Big Brother-style surveillance and control are steadily penetrating deep into everyday life before we even realize it.

Once the government acquires the authority to restrict individual freedom, it may be tempted to use that power for other purposes. Interference and control, once begun, are easily repeated or normalized. In the name of quarantine, the government controlled personal information and even prohibited everyday activities such as free movement, weddings, and visits to funeral homes. It treated as natural the forced closure of multi-use facilities and entertainment establishments, thereby infringing on the freedom to conduct business. It is worrying that the power of control and surveillance over individuals, which began under the pretext of the COVID-19 crisis, may not disappear easily.

The state exists to protect individual freedom. Why did citizens actively cooperate with the quarantine system to prevent the spread of COVID-19? Presumably, it was because they wanted the community to which they belong to remain sustainable, and within it, for their own freedom, property rights, and human rights to be protected. It was certainly not because they wanted a society in which the government monitors individuals’ movements through electronic entry logs.

The principles of freedom must not be shaken because of the coronavirus. We must remain vigilant so that the disclosure of my private life and others’ personal information does not become an ordinary part of life. Each individual should continue to show consideration and make efforts to protect the community to which they and their family belong, while also taking care not to infringe on the freedom and human rights of others. We also need to remind ourselves once again that the state exists to expand individual freedom.

Eun-kyung Kwak, Director of the Corporate Culture Division, Center for Free Enterprise (CFE)

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Original title: 포스트 코로나 시대에도 개인의 자유는 지켜져야

Author: Eun-kyung Kwak

Date: 2020-06-08

Source: https://www.cfe.org/bbs/bbsDetail.php?cid=press&pn=21&idx=22804