Snitches are emerging as enthusiastic allies as cities, states and countries work to enforce directives meant to limit person-to-person contact amid the virus pandemic. They’re phoning police and municipal hotlines, complaining to elected officials and shaming perceived scofflaws on social media.

There is a clear potential for law enforcement, health insurance firms, and local governments to misuse or abuse data, a problem that could haunt us long after the pandemic subsides.

Mayor Bill de Blasio posted details on Twitter about a lawyer in Westchester County who was the second person in the state to test positive for the virus — including the name of the man’s seven-person law firm and the names of the schools attended by two of his children. A few hours later, The New York Post identified the lawyer by name and was soon referring to him as “patient zero” in the coronavirus outbreak in New Rochelle.

“One of our key concerns is: Is it just for the period of the coronavirus crisis, or what happens next? We’ve seen this before with the question of terrorism…We never seem to return to normal.”

Earlier this month, Judge Brian Martinotti of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey granted a permanent injunction that bars New Jersey from enforcing S. 150, a state law that would have required certain nonprofit organizations to disclose information about their donors.