How to Heed Privacy Law in the Midst of a Pandemic

As countries grapple with the global threat of COVID-19, some are leveraging user location data and tracking apps to model potential contamination paths. China has tapped into its facial recognition tools to track the virus and has deployed drones that tell people to wear masks. Singapore has launched an app called TraceTogether which uses Bluetooth to determine who could be at risk of infection. And the United Kingdom is reportedly in talks with telecom providers on how to best use location data to stem the crisis.

But the coronavirus turning the world upside down does not mean companies can throw out the General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, as well as other privacy protections. Here’s how law experts and companies can comply with existing legal standards and new norms set by the pandemic.

Sandra Jeskie, Duane Morris’ team lead for the technology, media and telecom industry group, said in an email that businesses under GDPR or CCPA still have to comply with the laws unless the information they are sharing is anonymized or de-identified.

To read more of Ms. Jeskie’s comments from thsi article, please visit the Duane Morris website.

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The opinions expressed on this blog are those of the author and are not to be construed as legal advice.

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