Bangladesh, May 22 -- Many governments have responded to the coronavirus pandemic by pushing aside civil rights. It is not yet clear whether this shift in national attitudes toward fundamental rights will continue over the long term or how that trend will manifest. During the crisis, governments approved the tracking of citizens as well as other tools that infringed their privacy. Once the need for emergency measures has passed, discussions-both civil and legal-will grow more intense over how much longer civil rights should remain compromised.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, many governments approved the wholesale infringement of their citizens' civil rights. Large populations accepted the dramatic curtailment of their civil lib...