The World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday valued ICTs as a tool to stop the spread of the virus, but at the same time warned that the collection of information should not go against current regulations on data protection. The world body responded in this way to a debate in the making, which goes hand in hand with the fight against the disease worldwide: in any case, the data that operators have about their users should be used to contain the spread. At a press conference yesterday, Michael Ryan, executive director of the WHO Health Emergencies Program, said the pandemic is the first of the century to use "the full power of information, technology, social media and artificial intelligence". Although all this enthusiasm and innovation must be carefully structured to deliver products and services that are truly useful to workers on the front lines.