| Jeannette Simpoha Nylin | |
| Doctorante à la Södertörn University (Stockholm) | |
| De nombreux pays d’Europe, dont certains de la région nordique, ont eu recours aux technologies numériques pour surveiller et suivre la propagation du Covid-19, notamment en utilisant des applications de suivi de contacts. Le traitement des données à caractère personnel impliqué dans de telles applications soulève d’importantes préoccupations en matière de droits fondamentaux, notamment en matière de respect de la vie privée et de protection des données. Le Conseil de l’Europe, la Commission européenne et le Comité européen de la protection des données ont publié des lignes directrices et souligné que bien que les applications mobiles puissent jouer un rôle vital dans la lutte contre le Covid-19, elles doivent se conformer pleinement aux exigences en matière de protection des données personnelles et de confidentialité énoncées dans la législation de l’UE, y compris le Règlement général sur la protection des données (RGPD). Cet article examine les réponses numériques des pays nordiques à Covid-19, en particulier l’utilisation d’applications de recherche de contacts et leur traitement des données personnelles. L’objectif de cet article est d’étudier les modèles danois, finlandais, norvégien et suédois, ces pays étant classés comme les plus digitalisés d’Europe. | Many countries in Europe, including some from the Nordic region, have resorted to digital technologies to monitor and track the spread of Covid-19, in particular by using contact-tracing applications. The processing of personal data involved in such applications raises significant fundamental rights concerns, particularly about privacy and data protection. The Council of Europe, the European Commission and the European Data Protection Board issued guidelines and emphasised that although mobile applications can play a vital role in combating the Covid-19, they must fully comply with the personal data protection and privacy requirements sets out in EU law including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This paper examines Nordic countries’ digital responses to Covid-19, particularly the use of contact tracing apps, and their processing of personal data. The aim of this paper is to study the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish models, these countries being ranked as the most digitalised in Europe. |
| The Covid-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges for governments and societies around the world. There are growing privacy concerns about the ways governments use data to respond to Covid-19 crisis. Most European countries, including from the Nordic region, have resorted to digital technologies that involve the processing of personal data. Digital technologies such as mobile applications (hereafter ‘app’ or ‘apps’) have been adopted as a means of tracing the spread of the disease and enforcing lockdowns. These contact tracing applications on mobile phones, which are based on Bluetooth or geolocation data, allow for tracking contact with Covid-19 infected persons, helping thus authorities monitor and contain the spread of the virus. Contact tracing apps enable to quickly identify and instantly warn users if they have been in close contact with an infected person. However, like many digital applications requiring the processing of personal data, the digital tools developed to fight Covid-19 raise profound fundamental rights concerns such as data protection and privacy. In order to mitigate these risks, the Council of Europe and the European Commission issued guidelines and emphasised that although mobile applications can play a vital role in combating the Covid-19, they must fully comply with the personal data protection and privacy requirements as set out in EU law. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulates how personal data may be processed in the EU/EEA. | |
| This paper focuses on the Nordic countries’ digital responses to Covid-19 and their processing of personal data. In this paper, I explore and compare particularly contact tracing applications and the issues that arose regarding the processing of personal data. The aim of this paper is to study the Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian models. The reason for choosing these Nordic countries is that they are ranked as the most digitalised countries in Europe. Given the similarity of the Nordic societies, it is interesting to examine how they have responded to the fight against Covid-19. For instance, Sweden’s model of soft response to Covid-19 has been very different from its Nordic neighbours and the rest of Europe. In this paper, I will answer the following questions: What digital responses to Covid-19, particularly contact tracing apps were adopted ? And how was the processing of personal data dealt with ? What issues related to data protection were raised ? Did they comply with personal data protection and privacy requirements ? | L’avis du Comité scientifique
L’article examine, sous un angle juridique et comparatif, l’utilisation des applications mobiles de traçage des contacts en Finlande, Norvège, Suède et au Danemark, dans le contexte de la gestion de la crise sanitaire engendrée par la pandémie de Covid-19. L’examen des mesures mises en place dans les pays étudiés met en évidence la tension à laquelle les gouvernements ont dû faire face entre l’efficacité recherchée des outils numériques utilisés et les impératifs de protection de la vie privée et des données personnelles. L’analyse fait en outre ressortir les similitudes et les différences entre les stratégies nationales adoptées dans les quatre pays soumis à l’étude. La Suède se démarque de ses homologues nordiques en ayant fait le choix de ne pas adopter d’application de traçage. Patricia JONASON Professeure à la Sördertörn University |
| The paper will proceed as follows : the first section presents a background on Covid-19 contact tracing app and the legal framework related to the processing of personal data ; the second section contains an overview of the digital responses of each country with a focus on contact tracing apps and the processing of personal data ; the third section presents the comparative analysis ; and the last section deals with the discussion and conclusion.
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