Question for written answer E-002462/2020 to the Commission Rule 138 (Verts/ALE)

Subject: Data collection via social networks and mobile operators to combat COVID-19

On 15 April 2020, the Commission presented the ‘Joint European Roadmap towards lifting COVID-19 containment measures’. It includes a proposal to encourage social media and mobile network operators to share data, on a voluntary basis, on the mobility and social interactions of individuals, and suggests that the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) could centralise the collection of this anonymised data.

However, many scientific studies have demonstrated in recent years how easily data can be de- anonymised, and that centalised data collection entails both privacy and security risks.

1. Can the Commission clarify and list the concrete measures planned to implement a data collection scheme of this type?

2. Can the Commission explain how it evaluated the efficiency of such a data collection scheme in terms of containing a pandemic?

3. Can the Commission, as guardian of the Treaties, explain what concrete steps it intends to take to introduce safeguards to guarantee compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy Directive, while ensuring proper consultation of Parliament?

Supporters1

1 This question is supported by Members other than the author: (Verts/ALE), (Verts/ALE), (Verts/ALE), (Verts/ALE), Mikuláš Peksa (Verts/ALE), (Verts/ALE), Markéta Gregorová (Verts/ALE), (Verts/ALE), Petra De Sutter (Verts/ALE)

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