Fired Florida data scientist named 'Technology Person of the Year' by Forbes

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Forbes has named former Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones its "Technology Person of the Year."

Jones, the data curator who was fired for unauthorized public comments about Florida’s coronavirus numbers back in May, created her own dashboard to track coronavirus numbers. She later launched a national dashboard to track school-related cases.

She claims she was fired for being too transparent in regard to COVID-19 numbers and refusing to manipulate data.

"Regardless, she is the latest technologist who stepped up to fill the vacuum left by governments during COVID-19," the Forbes article reads.

On December 7, Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents served a search warrant on Jones' home.
According to an FDLE spokesperson, agents believe someone at the Tallahassee home where they performed the search warrant illegally accessed the Florida Department of Health's messaging system.

On December 21, Jones filed a lawsuit, stating that FDLE “violated her rights under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments,” and “terrorized” her family by coming in with “guns drawn.”

Jones is the first-ever recipient of the magazine’s Technology Person of the Year distinction.