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Contact-tracing applications use smartphones to alert users if they've been in contact with someone who's had the disease. This Bluetooth-enabled digital tool that can trace cases at scale has the potential to play a key role in all phases of crisis management, especially when time will be ripe to gradually lift social distancing measures. As several Member States have been deploying tracing apps throughout the last few weeks, questions arise about the efficiency, accuracy and privacy-friendly character of this technology.

Some of the biggest issues are making sure there is a critical mass of people signing up, the use of decentralized or centralized contact tracing apps, the mandatory or voluntary character and the need to introduce solid ethical and legal safeguards. The EU Member States, together with the European Commission have developed a Common EU Toolbox to support a common European approach for tracing apps, a Guidance on data protection for mobile apps to set out the features and requirements needed to ensure compliance with EU privacy and personal data protection legislation and a set of technical specifications to ensure a safe exchange of information between national contact tracing apps based on a decentralized architecture.

The STOA Panel has invited high-level experts to discuss the technology behind contact tracing applications, its accuracy, security and effectiveness in breaking the chains of transmission of an infectious disease; the lessons learned so far by their gradual deployment in Europe and the best practices developed to effectively contact trace while maintaining privacy in a centralized or decentralized way; to shed light on the possible impacts of this technology on the protection of personal data and citizens' trust and explore the main ethical concerns relating to the use of this app by individuals; and to examine the adequacy of the current EU legal framework to safeguard the responsible use of these applications.

Programme

15:00-15:05: Introductory remarks

• Eva KAILI, MEP, Chair of the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA)

15:05-15:50: Experts' presentations

15:05-15:20: What's the tech and how does it work?

• Marco MARSELLA, Head of Unit, DG CONNECT, European Commission

• Diego CIULLI, Public Policy Manager, Google

15:20-15:35: What are the lessons we have learned so far?

• Professor Michael BACKES, co-developer of the Corona-Warn-App / Chairman and Scientific Director of the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security

• Dr Christof TSCHOHL, Research Director at the Research Institute / Red Cross Austria - Stopp Corona-App

  
  

15:35-16:50 - Privacy risks, data security and possible effects on civil rights

• Leonardo CERVERA NAVAS, Director of European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

• Professor Ross ANDERSON, Computer Laboratory - University of Cambridge

15:50-16:25: Discussion

16:25-16:30: Closing remarks

• Petra DE SUTTER, MEP, Member of the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA)