Big Tech moves into government vacuum on coronavirus

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, tech companies are stepping into the void left by a reluctant or incapable federal government — enabling contact tracing, wrestling with testing, and ramping up the capacity of government operations like unemployment services. Public-private partnerships are common in times of crisis, and tech companies always love to show off their "how can we help?" reflexes when calamities arise. But the pandemic response is breaking from the normal pattern in which government calls for action, specifies needs, and sets standards and priorities while companies apply expertise and deliver results. Instead, this time around, in the absence of clear signals and coordination from Washington, the tech giants are having to forge paths of their own.