Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a public health challenge of unprecedented scale. In the midst of the first wave of the pandemic, governments worldwide introduced digital contact tracing systems as part of a strategy to contain the spread of the virus. In Europe, after intense discussion about privacy-related risks involving policymakers, technology experts, information technology companies, and—albeit to a limited extent—the public at large, technical protocols were created to support the development of privacy-compatible proximity tracing apps. However, as the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 sweeps the continent, digital contact tracing in Europe is evolving in terms of both technological and governance features. To enable policymakers to harness the full potential of digital health tools against SARS-CoV-2, this paper examines the evolution of digital contact tracing in eight European countries. Our study highlights that while privacy and data protection are at the core of contact tracing apps in Europe, countries differ in their technical protocols, and in their capacity to utilize collected data beyond proximity tracing alone. In particular, the most recently released apps tend to offer users more granular information about risk in specific locations, and to collect data about user whereabouts, in order to enhance retrospective contact tracing capacity. These developments signal a shift from a strict interpretation of data minimization and purpose limitation toward a more expansive approach to digital contact tracing in Europe, calling for careful scrutiny and appropriate oversight.
Highlights
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a public health challenge of unprecedented scale
Since late summer 2020, Europe has faced a resurgence of new cases as a second wave of SARS-CoV-2 spread across the continent, placing health systems under severe pressure and forcing governments to reinstate restrictions similar to those adopted in the first quarter of the year
Our analysis shows that European digital contact tracing (DCT) systems, to some extent, are evolving to incorporate new features extending their capabilities beyond mere proximity tracing—a development that calls for careful scrutiny and adequate oversight
Summary
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is a public health challenge of unprecedented scale. As of May 2021, Europe alone has had more than 31 million cases and 700 thousand deaths according to the most recent estimates of the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention [2]. Since late summer 2020, Europe has faced a resurgence of new cases as a second wave of SARS-CoV-2 spread across the continent, placing health systems under severe pressure and forcing governments to reinstate restrictions similar to those adopted in the first quarter of the year. Alongside restrictions to population movement during the first wave of the pandemic, governments throughout the world introduced digital contact tracing (DCT) systems, in the hope that this new digital health technology would help contain the spread of the virus [3].
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