Liberties and partners investigated contact tracing apps in 9 EU countries. We found that these apps likely had negligible impact, if any, on the spread of the pandemic, while governments unfairly blame privacy-friendly design to distract from inefficacy.
COVID-19 tracing apps in Europe did not become mass surveillance tools. Nevertheless, governments gave too much power to Big Tech and too little agency to citizens.
Saving face was more important to German policymakers than protecting personal data or ensuring transparency in the fight against the pandemic, as shown by a new study that investigated the mismanagement of rival local contact tracing apps.
What can we learn from Germany’s rush to create two coronavirus tracing apps? Quite a lot – but maybe not what you’d guess.
Rights International Spain, our Spanish member organization, has released its report on the county's coronavirus contact tracing app, finding irregularities in the app’s data protection impact assessment and risk analysis.
Knowledge Hub: COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps in the EU
Knowledge Hub: COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps in the EU
Research carried out across all EU countries and the UK by the Liberties network has found that the contact-tracing apps developed by governments to monitor people’s exposure to COVID-19 did not lead to mass surveillance, partly thanks to the BigTech.