UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the massive digital data collection dangers that were triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

His remarks came on Monday at the opening of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

According to him, publicity coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic raises concerns more generally in terms of the increasing penetration of digital platforms, data use, and abuse. A huge amount of information is collected about each of us, he added.

Guterres added that this data is used for commercial purposes, including advertising and marketing, and behavioral patterns are formed, which lead to the creation of new business models and completely new industries that contribute to increasing concentration of wealth and increasing inequality.