In the months ahead, digital technologies will play a key role in efforts to control the coronavirus pandemic and restore consumer confidence. Across the globe, more than 30 countries have launched smartphone apps to catalog people's close interactions and alert them if they have come into contact with anyone who tests positive for COVID-19. 

(See our Global Dashboard of Government Policies ).

As the United States continues to respond to the outbreak, our international partners may be an important resource for best practices and pitfalls. Building on experience gained abroad, East Asian countries have led the way in incorporating digital technologies. South Korea has had significant success in limiting new coronavirus cases thanks to extensive testing and a rigorous contact tracing program. Singapore enjoyed early success in flattening the curve and was one of the first to release a voluntary contact tracing mobile app. However, after a slow adoption rate of this technology combined with a spike in new cases, the Prime Minister has had to make strong public appeals to encourage more people to download and make use of the app.

In the European Union, meanwhile, COVID-19 is putting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to the test. In the early days of the pandemic, Europe's top privacy body insisted that GDPR will not inhibit the response to the virus. Conflicting interpretations of the law by member states, however, has fragmented how digital technologies are being used across the continent. At the same time, disagreements on which contact tracing method enhances privacy the most has encouraged member states to back competing and sometimes incompatible programs.

Not all strategies for combating coronavirus will be easily adaptable to the United States. Still, as tech companies, universities, and others are already working with public health agencies to provide digital contact tracing tools, the U.S. should take advantage of the lessons learned abroad as we seek to build out an effective response.