During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels, MEPs discuss the use of smartphone apps in managing the spread of the pandemic and how to ensure data protection and privacy rights are fully respected.

Brussels

debate

plenary session

SIPPEL, Birgit (S&D, DE)

SCHWAB, Andreas (EPP, DE)

healthcare safety (T)

REYNDERS, Didier (BE, EC)

MELCHIOR, Karen (Renew, DK)

BRNJAC, Nikolina (HR)

Coronavirus outbreak (T)

Use of contact tracing apps in the fight against the coronavirus: extracts from the debate

SOUNDBITE (English), Nikolina BRNJAC, Croatian Presidency, They are sizeable regional differences between digital services across and between different member states. We must ensure digital inclusion in every part of Europe. Bridging this gap will not happen without investments into interconnectivity, technological and human digital skills.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, The installation of an app on a user's device should be voluntary if proximity that is used, it should be stored on an individual's device and only shared at the initiative of the user. For contact tracing, there is no use of geolocalisation data, only proximity data based on Bluetooth. Only the personal data that are necessary to meet the purpose of the app can be processed. The identity of the user of the app will not be disclosed to order users. The personal data should not be kept for longer than necessary. Timelines should be based on medical relevance. In addition, the apps should be only used during the crisis and be deactivate at the latest when the pandemic is over.

SOUNDBITE (French), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, There should be no doubt about this. These applications cannot be used for mass surveillance. Individuals will retain and must retain the right to their data. This is the only way that the applications can work and to help us to fight the spread of the virus.So the applications need to be non-intrusive and they need to respect the personal data as defined in EU law.

SOUNDBITE (English), Didier REYNDERS, European Commissioner for Justice, We should also make sure that national authorities are able to adjust these epidemiologic barometers of the apps and to obtain the necessary aggregated information to monitor the efficiency of the measures taken.The Commission also firmly believes that the process regarding the selection of the apps as well as their functioning should be transparent. The technical specifications and the source code of the apps should therefore be published.

SOUNDBITE (German), Andreas SCHWAB (EPP, DE), We think this app will be persuade citizens if they provide some genuine value security information that is useful for them and needs to work across Europe, needs to be interoperable. That's where member states need to make sure this happens, because still health care systems are organized separately in different member states. There cannot be geolocation. Anonymity needs to be guaranteed. It needs to be secure from potential cyber attacks and data must be deleted as soon it's no longer needed.

SOUNDBITE (English), Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), Today there is no evidence that apps can contain a disease, but there are serious fundamental rights concerns and therefore the app must be truly voluntary. No incentives to using them and no discrimination against people not willing to use it or cannot use it. The entry into a country should not depend on using the app. Freedom of movement is a fundamental right, not a price for downloading an app. An app must only be used for contact tracing with no access for commercial players or law enforcement, and data should be stored in a decentral way. This is important because especially in exceptional times, interference with fundamental rights must remain proportionate. Necessary and limited in time.

SOUNDBITE (English), Karen MELCHIOR (RE, DK), Without knowing, you could be infected right now. I, too, could be infected without showing a single sign of infection. I could be infecting the people I stand next to . Digital technology as a tool in the fight against the spread of cold 19. And it can be both beneficial and effective to trace contacts in order to notify people at risk. The use of the applications must be strictly and exclusively limited to the purpose of COVID 19 tracing tracing applications should assist manual tracing used for centuries to combat epidemics. Applications are not a panacea to combat the virus, but a complementary tool. We have to trace the virus, not the European Citizens United, we are united while we safeguard our fundamental rights. We must insist on mandatory standards and strong guarantees for their preservation, especially the right to privacy and data protection.