Bucharest, 7th of April 2020
According to an European Commission project, the largest telecom operators should transmit to the EU authorities the location data recorded by customers’ phones in order to monitor the spread of COVID-19. Although the purpose pursued is legitimate, such activity comes in the context of a less permissive legislation, following the application of the General Regulation on Data Protection. Thus, although the monitoring initiative belongs to the European Commission itself, the legality of the approach from the perspective of the protection of personal data raises many question marks.