On Tuesday 1 September, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) issued a set of key principles to guide the action of European Union institutions, bodies and agencies that would like to introduce temperature checks for the return to offices during the pandemic.
Wojciech Wiewiórowski said: “Body temperature checks for employees and visitors, used as an additional measure to tackle Covid-19, can be implemented using a variety of devices and processes that should be carefully evaluated. Some of these processes are neutral while others may constitute interference with the individuals’ rights of to privacy and/or protection of personal data”.
The nine-page document specifies, for example, that, in principle, basic manual body temperature checks are not subject to European legislation on the protection of personal data (2018/1725).
On the other hand, however, “a fully automated temperature monitoring system would only be lawful on a voluntary basis, with the explicit consent of the data subjects”.
The European Parliament, which has already set up an automated monitoring system, denies access to its premises in Brussels to anyone whose body temperature exceeds 37.7 degrees Celsius.
The principles set out by the EDPS can be found at: https://bit.ly/3bkugQn (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)