April 20, 2020

On 8 April 2020 the Commission adopted a Recommendation setting out steps and measures to develop a common EU approach for the use of mobile applications and mobile data in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Recommendation sets out a process towards adoption of a toolbox, focusing on two dimensions:

• a pan-European coordinated approach for the use of mobile apps for empowering citizens to take effective and more targeted social distancing measures and for warning, preventing and contact tracing; and
• a common approach to model and predict the evolution of the virus through anonymised and aggregated mobile location data.

The Recommendation sets out key principles for the use of these apps and data in the light of data security principles and EU fundamental rights, such as privacy and data protection.

Central to the Recommendation is the proposal for a joint toolbox towards a common coordinated approach for the use of smartphone apps that fully respect EU data protection standards. It will consist of:

• specifications to ensure the effectiveness of mobile information, warning and tracing apps from a medical and technical point of view;
• measures to avoid the proliferation of incompatible apps, support requirements for interoperability and the promotion of common solutions;
• governance mechanisms to be applied by public health authorities in cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC);
• the identification of good practices and mechanisms for the exchange of information on how the apps are functioning; and
• sharing data with relevant epidemiological public bodies, including sharing aggregated data with the ECDC.

To support Member States, the Commission says that it will also provide guidance, including on data protection and privacy implications.

The toolbox will also focus on developing a common approach to model and predict the evolution of the virus through anonymous and aggregated mobile location data. The aim is to analyse mobility patterns, including the impact of confinement measures, and hence the risks of contamination. The Commission says that this will provide insights for the development of strategies for opening up societies again.

The Commission has been in discussions with mobile phone operators across Member States since 23 March 2020. It says that the data will be fully anonymised and transmitted to the Joint Research Centre (JRC) for processing and modelling. It will not be shared with third parties and will only be stored as long as the crisis is ongoing.

Member States must report on the actions they have taken by 31 May 2020, and make the measures accessible to other Member States and the Commission for peer review. The Commission will assess the progress made and publish periodic reports starting in June 2020 and throughout the crisis, recommending action and/or the phasing out of measures that are no longer necessary. To read the Commission’s announcement in full and for a link to the Recommendation, click here.