Contact-Tracing Apps as Boundary Objects of Pandemic Governance: The State-by-State Approach to Contain the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States

Authors

  • Eugene Jang Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California
  • Jeeyun (Sophia) Baik Department of Communication Studies, University of San Diego (USD)
  • Katrin Fischer Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California

Keywords:

COVID-19, contact tracing, mobile apps, walkthrough, boundary object, sociotechnical assemblages, pandemic governance

Abstract

Digital contact tracing has been claimed as imperative to controlling the spread of COVID-19. However, the state-by-state approach in the United States led to divergences in contact tracing. This study analyzed contact-tracing apps as “boundary objects” through which each state worked toward the governance of the pandemic without having a formal consensus. Through media coverage and walkthrough analyses of three digital contact-tracing apps in Alabama, California, and New York, we closely investigated both convergences and divergences of the apps. In the process, we located the implications of Google/Apple’s Bluetooth-based exposure notification system for digital contact tracing within and beyond state boundaries. Our findings suggest that the development of apps shared the notion of an ideal contact-tracing method—exposure notification—while each state was also situated in their local experiences of the pandemic as reflected in distinct app features. We further discuss the implications of techno-solutionist standardization of such digital contact-tracing apps.

Author Biographies

Eugene Jang, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California

Eugene Jang is a PhD student at USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Her research interests include communication technology, AI-mediated communication, social networks, social support, and issues of inequalities/marginalization.

Jeeyun (Sophia) Baik, Department of Communication Studies, University of San Diego (USD)

Jeeyun (Sophia) Baik, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of San Diego (USD). She studies the politics of communication technology policy across stakeholders and borders. Her research has covered issues including privacy, surveillance, and data-oriented business models, looking at the impacts on marginalized communities in particular.

Katrin Fischer, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California

Katrin Fischer is a PhD student at USC Annenberg with a background in user experience (UX) and human-computer interaction. Her current research involves topics in human-machine communication with a focus on socially interactive robots.

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Published

2023-02-13

Issue

Vol. 17 (2023)

Section

Articles

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