OliverWyman Forum

COVID, Data Privacy, and Reopening

With the Institute of International Finance, we explore how to harness data to fight the pandemic and reopen economies.

Where: Virtual event

When: July 8, 2020

Overview: The Oliver Wyman Forum, in collaboration with the Institute of International Finance, convened industry executives to explore ways to mobilize data to fight the coronavirus and help reopen economies.

Countries have had very different experiences with the pandemic and apply different data protection regimes, yet research by the Oliver Wyman Forum finds similarities in their data sharing preferences. We found an overall drop in willingness to share data since the early days of coronavirus, and even bigger declines in peoples’ comfort when data collected for one purpose is re-used for others.

The results suggest that educating the public about the value of contact tracing in containing the disease and designing privacy protections into contact-tracing mobile apps are vital to win public support. The involvement of public health authorities is also critical as people express more trust in them than in government officials or technology companies.  

The findings have significant implications for financial institutions. As firms increasingly rely on alternative data sources, it is important to clearly communicate to customers the value they can receive from sharing their data.

 

View the presentation.