Privacy experts are advising individuals looking for COVID-19 proof of vaccination applications to be wary, NPR reports. Without federal regulation on a COVID-19 vaccination registry or app, many third-party apps have cropped up for individual use, but experts warn some come at a privacy cost of personal data. In finding a secure app, chief digital health physician at MITRE and cofounder of the Vaccination Credential Initiative Brian Anderson advised users to ask themselves if they trust and rec... Read More

A new malware targeting Android phones is using fake COVID-19 updates as bait to gain control over devices, TechRepublic reports. The malware, called TangleBot, sends a message to phones offering a link to new COVID-19 information or even a booster shot appointment and will prompt users to update their Adobe Flash Player if they click the link. If installed, the malware has access to phone capabilities, including contacts and camera, and can overlay screens to steal further application informati... Read More

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner along with state and territory privacy commissioners released COVID-19 privacy principles “to support a nationally consistent approach to solutions and initiatives designed to address the ongoing risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” The principles include data minimization, purpose limitation, security, retention/deletion and regulation under privacy law. Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk publis... Read More

A pilot program is launching in the city of Bucheon, South Korea, using artificial intelligence, facial recognition and surveillance to track COVID-19 cases, Reuters reports. Under the system, AI algorithms and biometric technology will analyze footage compiled by over 10,820 CCTV cameras, tracking a person’s movements, those they came into contact with, and whether they were wearing a mask. Human rights advocates and lawmakers have raised privacy and data collection concerns, questioning whethe... Read More

An Austin, Texas-based company’s artificial intelligence camera can detect those who may have a COVID-19-related fever, Fast Company reports. Athena Security’s camera system uses an AI model to view a subject’s inner eye, which can reflect body temperature. The thermal camera records an image of those with a fever. Athena CEO Lisa Falzone said the technology will be seen more in places like airports and hospitals where access depends on an individual’s temperature.Full Story... Read More

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin using biometric facial-comparison technology to monitor pedestrians traveling through the Brownsville, Texas, border crossing, Government Technology reports. The technology will photograph each pedestrian traveler entering the U.S. and compare that image to passport and ID photos stored in government records. Privacy advocates argue the program violates travelers’ privacy rights, adding CBP is not following an opt-out policy for U.S. citizens.Full St... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many things in life to a screeching halt. For many organizations, the outbreak has meant shuttering, limiting or digitalizing most, if not all, operations. Those types of transitions and subsequent hardships have led some in the privacy space to question whether it's right for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to go forward with California Consumer Privacy Act enforcement July 1. A coalition of 35 advertising groups sent the attorney general a letter M... Read More

MediaPost reports the Association of National Advertisers, Interactive Advertising Bureau, American Association of Advertising Agencies and 32 other groups want the California attorney general to delay enforcement of the California Consumer Privacy Act due to the current COVID-19 outbreak. “Now is not the time to threaten business leaders with premature CCPA enforcement lawsuits,” the groups write. Meanwhile, DLA Piper has published its take on the third version of the California Consumer Privac... Read More

Phishing scams and spam attacks are on the rise during the COVID-19 outbreak, CNBC reports. Thirty-six percent of executives on the CNBC Technology Executive Council said cyberthreats have increased as the majority of their employees work from home. “Businesses should anticipate that bad actors will assume that people aren’t manning the gates, providing them with an opening,” Nationwide Chief Technology Officer Jim Fowler said.Full Story... Read More

At the beginning of each school year, there are many papers to be signed. I agree I have (1) read the student handbook, (2) health forms, (3) appropriate use of technology at school, (4) photos of my children for promotional purposes, and so on. Then, this year out of the blue, a new consent shows up — a consent to record classes for operational purposes — and if I don’t sign it, it will significantly impact my child’s education. Wait … what?  This doesn’t sound right. What exactly are opera... Read More

Experts discuss how we can protect children's privacy during the COVID-19 epidemic and as they head back to school. Read More

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration revised guidelines May 19 that require employers to determine whether employees who have contracted COVID-19 did so in the workplace.  According to OSHA's recordkeeping requirements, employers are required to conduct investigations about the cause of an employee's infection with certain parameters. In the revised guidelines, which went into effect May 26, "employers should be taking action to determine whether employee COVID-19 illnesses ar... Read More

Global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers created a facial recognition tool to help financial institutions track employees as they work from home, Personnel Today reports. The software taps into employees' webcams to capture face images and detects when employees are not in front of their screens during work hours. PwC said the technology aims to help traders abide by regulations "in the least intrusive, pragmatic way." Meanwhile, Amazon plans to deploy artificial intelligence tracking syste... Read More

Diagnostic and antibody testing for COVID-19 is increasing significantly as governments and health authorities look for data to inform decisions about how to safely end lockdowns and restart economies. While public health and safety concerns are paramount, there are numerous privacy questions worth asking when testing and health monitoring for COVID-19. IAPP Legal Research Fellow Cathy Cosgrove explores some of those issues and questions in this piece for The Privacy Advisor.Full Story Infograp... Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected both EU data protection authorities and the organizations they oversee, finding themselves in uncharted territory. DPAs have been left to choose how they'll go about handling their enforcement work in an unparalleled time of hardship and technological uptake for companies — all while the pressure's on for critics who say DPA's enforcement of the EU General Data Protection Regulation has been weak to date. Where DPAs stand on enforcement DPAs from France, Germ... Read More

Over the last few months, we have seen organizations impose various obligations on their employees, visitors and customers to combat the spread of COVID-19. The underlying measures first began with completed health questionnaires, moved to requiring temperature checks of people entering buildings, along with the installation of thermal cameras at office entrances, and now there are regular blood tests for employees whose presence is essential for business continuity. How did the Hungarian gover... Read More

Euractiv reports the Hungarian government intends to suspend certain rights and protections provided by the EU General Data Protection Regulation until the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. Under the new measures, citizens will see a pause on their right to data access and erasure, while any legal actions pertaining to alleged GDPR violations will also be delayed. Opposition politician Bernadett Szél plans to challenge the suspension of rights in the Constitutional Court of Hungary, claiming that "res... Read More

A first-of-its-kind judicial decision sets out the rules for lawful tracking in an epidemic outbreak situation. The Israeli Supreme Court strikes a balance between COVID-19-related contact tracing technology and the right to privacy in a landmark decision about the government’s limits of power and the rights to privacy and dignity. The Israeli government enforces the isolation of confirmed patients and people who came in close contact with them in an effort to contain the spread of the COVID-19... Read More

There are several reasons public health authorities may seek to collect COVID-19 data from private companies, including hospitals and health care providers. One of the top reasons is to track the spread of the virus and monitor the emergence of new clusters of infections so resources can be directed to areas most in need. Another reason is to send information to people who may have come into contact with someone who was diagnosed with or is suspected to have COVID-19. Given this reality, let's ... Read More

Now, perhaps more than ever before, it is critical to understand how governments around the world protect the personal information they exchange with each other. In their just-released third edition of "The Guide to U.S. Government Practice on Global Sharing of Personal Information," Onfido Director of Privacy Neal Cohen, CIPP/E, CIPP/US, and Northrop Grumman Corporation John Kropf, CIPP/E, CIPP/G, CIPP/US, help us do just that. Cohen and Kropf’s guide walks readers through existing accords tha... Read More

Newsweek reports American Airlines, United and digital health nonprofit The Commons Project Foundation created their own vaccine passport applications. Brookings Institution Nonresident Senior Fellow John B. Morris Jr. expressed concern over the sharing of health information and increased cybersecurity risk to personal healthcare data being stored. It is “critical” for private entities offering such applications to ensure “that it’s not marketing the data for other purposes, and that the only pu... Read More

A survey conducted by Help Net Security gauged Americans' attitude toward the security measures implemented by vaccine passports. Of the 3,000 Americans polled, 56% said they do not trust vaccine passports to keep their data secure. The study also found 58.5% of respondents said vaccine passports should not be required to attend sporting events, schools or other areas and events. Editor’s note: IAPP Staff Writer Jennifer Bryant reported for The Privacy Advisor on the privacy considerations surro... Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is relaxing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy and security requirements for COVID-19 community-based testing sites to make it easier to collect patient data, Nextgov reports. The HHS Office for Civil Rights said in a notice other health care providers still have to fully comply with HIPAA. Meanwhile, the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information published guidance on data processing during th... Read More

The U.S. government just eased the path for doctors and nurses to do video chats with patients by lifting privacy and security compliance penalties and enforcement action against health care providers. The Office for Civil Rights at the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday said it will allow health care providers to use technology, such as Apple FaceTime, Facebook Messenger video chat or other video platforms, to communicate with patients. But, while federal response to the COVID... Read More

Managing the COVID-19 outbreak and stopping its spread is now a global challenge. In addition to the significant health and medical responses underway around the world, governments and public health officials are focused on how to monitor, understand and prevent the spread of the virus. Data protection and privacy laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation and various U.S. laws, are informing these responses. One major response to limiting the spread of infection is contact traci... Read More

U.S. Senate lawmakers proposed a bipartisan bill to regulate contact tracing apps, The Washington Post reports. The Exposure Notification Privacy Act would ensure those who do not want to use the apps are not tracked and prohibit any data that is collected by the apps to be used for commercial purposes. “The important thing we wanted to get done, as people started to look at this, is make sure the privacy protections are in place,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.Full Story... Read More

While the COVID-19 outbreak has brought about numerous changes to our daily lives, it has not brought U.S. Congress any closer to bridging the partisan divide over the shape and scope of federal privacy legislation. Although both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have introduced privacy legislation related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in recent weeks, lawmakers from either side of the aisle remain at odds over at least two key provisions: a private right of action and preemption of state... Read More

I recently received my second COVID-19 vaccination in an abandoned Sears building attached to a local mall. After the jab, I sat in a chair for the allotted 15 minutes they want you to in case the 5G signals aren't kicking in. To pass the time, I listened to the second half of David Bowie's "Low," which has some of my all-time favorite instrumental tracks. When I left, a wave of different feelings gradually hit me over the next couple of days. First came the feeling of relief. The whole process... Read More

Over the past few months, millions received the option to receive "Exposure Notifications " through Apple or Google. The technology took off: millions of individuals downloaded applications or opted-in to exposure notifications. The Bluetooth Low Energy technology that powers the system, the privacy-by-design of the system and the increase in privacy-centric marketing demonstrate how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased awareness of potential privacy harms while providing a roadmap for the rollou... Read More

It is only May, but 2020 is already shaping up to be a crucial year for data protection. At least in Europe where the data protection authorities’ enforcement engine is starting to warm up. In Italy, for example, the Italian DPA, the Garante, started the year by handing down some very important fines. Beginning with provisions no. 231 and no. 232 issued Dec. 11, 2019, and published Jan. 17, 2020, against one of the global leading oil companies and with provision no. 7 issued Jan. 15, 2020, again... Read More

The U.S. is in the throes of a pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, COVID-19. Realizing that long-term lockdowns are not sustainable, governments are seeking alternative methods of controlling the pandemic. “Testing and tracing” has been touted as a way to reopen economies with the pandemic still raging. While testing has its own set of privacy challenges, the methods discussed to accomplish contact tracing are rife with problems. In simple terms, contact tracing involves determining who ha... Read More

The U.K. Information Commissioner's Office has published six data protection steps businesses can follow as lockdown measures begin to ease during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ICO recommends businesses only collect information as needed, to be transparent about what data they gather from staff and to keep all data secure. The agency also answers questions on its pandemic regulatory approach and COVID-19 testing.Full Story... Read More

As COVID-19 is rapidly spreading around the world, public health authorities are eagerly searching for effective measures to flatten the curve and decrease the rate of contamination. Among others, many governments are using or considering using surveillance technology to track the movements of people infected by COVID-19 and notify those who may have been exposed to the virus. Naturally, the use of such measures on a wide scale raises serious privacy concerns. In Israel, for example, there is a ... Read More

Reuters reports on the technical measures India has implemented to track the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indian officials have called upon local companies to develop technology powered by artificial intelligence to help in these efforts. One such initiative sponsored by the federal government would use thermal cameras to track whether a person is wearing a mask. Municipal workers in northern Chandigarh were ordered earlier this year to wear GPS devices to track their efficiency, which spark... Read More

The U.K. National Health Service COVID-19 smartphone application launched in England and Wales, allowing users to trace contacts, assess risk level and record visits to establishments, Reuters reports. The app launched four months after the government said it would arrive. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the app involved extensive work with technology companies, privacy experts and others, noting it is “secure” and “simple to use.” Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Pennsylvania Department of Health... Read More

France's data protection authority, the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, published guidance on the principles employers should follow when potentially collecting employee data to monitor COVID-19 symptoms or for contact-tracing purposes. The CNIL recapped the processing of health data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation and offered updates on certain practices, such as monitoring employees' temperatures as they enter the building and carrying out surveys to gau... Read More