Slovakian law grants Public Health Office access to mobile location data

A newly-enacted Slovakian law, inspired by similar laws in Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan, allows the country's Public Health Office to use location data from mobile phones to track people ordered to quarantine to ensure they are not breaking the rules. The angry public response on privacy grounds forced the government to clarify: it will only collect limited data and use it only in connection with the coronavirus outbreak, the data will only be accessible by the Public Health Office; and the new powers will expire on December 31. The justice minister, Maria Kolikova, said that while the use would be unacceptable in normal circumstances, the right to privacy was not absolute in a public health emergency.

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/64539a44-6e87-11ea-89df-41bea055720b

Writer: James Shotter
Publication: Financial Times