The ethical, legal, and social implications of digital health(care) in covid-19 pandemic

Since the beginning of the pandemic, national governments and health authorities have adopted heavy restrictions in order to respond to the COVID-19 health emergency. As a consequence, fundamental rights and individual freedoms were significantly constrained. In parallel, multiple attempts were made to shift our lives towards a ʻdigital transitionʼ. In such a context, digital healthcare services assumed a fundamental role in the management of pandemic. This paper analyses the most relevant ethical, legal, and social implications of using these technologies by grouping them into three clusters: (i) the attempts to foster a digitalisation of healthcare, (ii) the interplay of health inequalities and digital divides, and (iii) the intertwining of healthcare and control, which was legally and socially legitimised on the grounds of public health protection.