This is one of those weird stories that shows the randomness of what stories "catch on," as it were. It's been in the news for two years, now, but now treated as new? Is it just surprise that a public health agency would also be interested in the dataset? But... duh?

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/01/849161820/mobile-phone-data-s... - May 2020

"The data, provided to NPR by a mobile phone location data company called SafeGraph, is based on the locations of about 18 million mobile phones across the country."

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-16/pandemic... - March 2021

"The findings come from a Google compilation of vast troves of cellphone location tracking data, part of an ongoing effort the tech giant says it initiated to help leaders around the globe gauge the impact of coronavirus-related closures and travel restrictions."

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-12-09/the-pa... - Dec 2021

"The trade-offs of this emerging world were foreshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, when cities and countries decided on how far to infringe on personal freedoms to protect public health. Some of the nations that pried most deeply into private lives to track infections managed to keep deaths low, curb rampant spread and prevent healthcare systems from being overwhelmed."

And those are both VERY mainstream sources, so it's not even like it was being buried!