THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN THE AGE OF PANDEMICS “A STUDY IN GERMAN AND EUROPEAN LAW”

Abstract

The right to protection of personal data arises where personal data requires processing, usage ad storage. It is therefore a process requiring extracting of personal data from an individual and processing it without infringing on the person’s rights to protection of data as well as privacy. Contact tracing technology is used at the time of epidemics, and it is a technique by which people can be monitored to find out their interactions with a person who has tested positive for a specific infectious disease. This process was previously done as a means of managing infectious diseases so as to shorten the response time. Specifically, for the Covid-19 pandemic, the process has been digitized across the globe. In dealing with covid-19, the state should take into consideration the need to balance between the right of individuals to good health and the right to protection of data as contact tracing and following up on infections is paramount in managing the corona virus pandemic. This can be through setting out legislation that limits the use of information collected for the purposes of corona-virus for that limited purpose in the required institutions. Since Coronavirus is an emerging problem, more needs to be done in terms of research to understand how to deal with it effectively and in balance while protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals. The Paper discuss the legal principles on the right to personal privacy in both Germany and the European Union, through a comparative study between European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which came into force on 25th May 2018, and German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) of 30 June 2017, amended by Article 12 of the Act of November 20, 2019. it will delve deeper on the relationship between the protection of personal data and other fundamental rights and freedoms. Lastly it studies the balancing between measures that could help track and contain the virus while safeguarding the privacy of individuals.