MEPs to discuss the use of personal data in the fight against COVID-19
The Civil Liberties Committee will discuss the use and protection of personal data in managing COVID-19, including smartphone apps, with EU data protection experts.
In an exchange of views with Wojciech Wiewiórowski, European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and Andrea Jelinek, the Chair of the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), the Civil Liberties MEPs will discuss current developments in the EU on the use of personal data in the fight against COVID-19 that subsequently raise issues around data protection.
MEPs will focus particularly on the tools being developed and already in use in some member states to counter the spread of the pandemic based on individuals’ mobile phone data. This includes smartphone apps designed to track individuals who are infected or at risk of contracting the virus.
In a plenary resolution adopted on 17 April, the Parliament stressed, regarding contact-tracing apps, that “national and EU authorities must fully comply with data protection and privacy legislation” and that “mobile location data can only be processed in compliance with the ePrivacy Directive and the GDPR”.
When: Thursday, 7 May, from 17.35 to 18.30
Where: European Parliament in Brussels, room 4Q2, Antall building, and via videoconference.
You can follow the meeting live.
The use of contact tracing apps in the fight against COVID-19 will also be discussed in plenary on 14 May.
