Ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, afflicted countries have been struggling to help contain the spread of this disease. Unfortunately, the methods put in place by certain countries are thinly-veiled attempts to undermine the human rights and privacy of their citizens. These countries (China and Russia, for example) are taking advantage of this outbreak to further tighten their grip on their citizens. This is an issue that will no doubt have to be addressed alongside the rest of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The situation in Russia is curious, as there is potential for surveillance to increase, but currently, the Kremlin has not yet entirely rolled out its new surveillance software. One of these ‘solutions’ for the issue of people breaking quarantine is a QR-code system, which requires users to obtain a QR-code whenever they leave their house, and show it to police when asked. Putin has not yet introduced this system all around Russia; rather, he has allowed provincial governments to make their own decision, such as the region of Nizhny Novgorod. Officials in Moscow said that, because of the decrease in people leaving their homes, the new system would be unnecessary. However, it is suspected that Putin is holding off on introducing more authoritarian measures because he fears backlash from the public. Thus, his decision to let the provincial governments choose whether or not to introduce the QR-code system may be an attempt to shift any potential blame from the Kremlin.

Nevertheless, Russia has introduced other authoritarian measures: Moscow’s 170,000 cameras have been paired with facial recognition software to detect anyone breaking quarantine, the punishment for which could be as much as a short prison sentence. In fact, the facial recognition software is so accurate that it works even when someone is wearing a mask. In one case, a man ordered to quarantine after a trip was caught leaving his house to take out his garbage by the software; he left his house for no longer than a minute, and within half an hour, the police were at his door. Instances like these have led many to fear about the implications of this software, such as Russian digital rights group Roskomsvoboda, who worry that this software could lead to a ‘Chinese situation’

But what exactly is a ‘Chinese situation’? China has rolled out even more authoritarian measures than Russia, one of the primary examples being ‘Health Code’, an app which gets users to input their personal information, whether or not they have the virus or not, and other related questions. The users are then given a colour code: green means they can go anywhere, yellow means they must quarantine for 7 days and red means they must quarantine for 14 days. People are required to show that they are ‘green’ on the app when going to supermarkets, entering the subway, and entering residential areas. Some residential areas even have facial recognition software, which only allows people with the green code to leave their homes (this indicates that this software is linked with Health Code).

Another app introduced by China is ‘StayHomeSafe’. Essentially, people arriving in Hong Kong are tested by the Department of Health and forced to download the app, which requires them to wear a wristband. Many people have raised concerns over the privacy of the app: Janis Wong, a data protection advisor, took a screenshot of the StayHomeSafe app after she arrived in Hong Kong. The screenshot showed the app asking for numerous Android app permissions; the app has not asked Wong to take or upload pictures, and thus she is skeptical about what the permissions are actually needed for. Worse, the app can even send out an alert if someone is detected walking past a certain point.

All in all, the situation in Russia and China is a pitiful symptom of the coronavirus crisis, and is almost as much of a concern as the virus itself. If this is not addressed soon by the international community, this virus of government surveillance could mutate into something far worse, infecting millions, even billions, of people, throughout China and Russia. For their sake, something must be done: the international community should band together, not just to combat the virus, but also those who wish to take advantage of the virus to stomp on the rights of others. People in places of power need to be made aware of this dire situation so that pressure can be applied to these countries. Only then, hopefully, will international pressure force these countries into restoring the rights of their citizens.