Brussels against use of location data by CoV apps

The EU Commission has spoken out against the use of location data from mobile phone users by apps in the fight against the novel corona virus. The use of location data is “neither necessary nor recommended,” said the Brussels authority today. “The recording of an individual’s movements” to “identify contact persons” violates the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Many EU countries are currently developing mobile phone apps to combat the pandemic. The evaluation of mass data should contribute to the large-scale observation of the spread of the virus. Tracking infections could also allow notifying people who may have had contact with infected people. From a data protection perspective, however, this approach is delicate.

The EU Commission had already generally spoken out in favor of the development and use of such technologies, but in doing so called for compliance with European data protection rules and cross-border cooperation.

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