Stefan Mileschin

Government and employers are still not allowed to spy on you

While Europe’s privacy rules do not create obstacles to taking action to curb the coronavirus epidemic the legislator's watchdogs have warned that mass tracking of people’s movements and contacts using smartphone location data is right out.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in the European Union in mid-2018, states that people’s data is their own and requires anyone seeking to process it to obtain their consent.

Companies are allowed to obtain information on whether an employee has travelled to a region with confirmed coronavirus cases and some systemic data collection may also be required, such as through workplace questionnaires or requiring staff to report their travel plans.

But data protection office CNIL has warned that this is where it ends. Employers are not allowed to take mandatory readings of the temperature of employees or visitors, nor can they require them to fill out compulsory medical questionnaires,

In practical terms that means a receptionist may only take the temperature of a visitor under certain conditions, as this may require processing of health data that can only be done by a doctor, said Holger Lutz, partner at law firm Baker & McKenzie.

https://fudzilla.com/news/50458-gdpr...or-coronavirus