In times of COVID-19 we quickly noticed that we often asked each other: how is it in your country? Being lawyers the topic quickly turned legal. To combat the spread of COVID-19, governments all around the globe have implemented measures, many of them significantly limiting freedoms which we take for granted and are also essential in a democratic society.
For example, governments implemented measures to track the movement of persons and, should they be tested positive, identify the people they have been in contact with. This tracking and identification are often achieved by technological means, such as with the help of apps or mobile phone data. Already before Covid-19 data protection and privacy and the identification of individuals - mostly by private companies - through browsers or mobile apps have been hot and controversial topics. The potential problems seem to intensify when governments employ the same techniques and measures they may have criticised and tried to reduce before.
AIJA is an international association of lawyers all over the world. The members of AIJA’s IP/TMT Commission deal with a broad range of topics in the fields of technology, intellectual property, telecoms, privacy and media. Especially IT and privacy lawyers have dealt with the issues described above for years. As such we are in the unique position to gather information on what type of technology-related measures governments around the globe have introduced or are planning, their acceptance and impact.
Members of the IP/TMT Commisison have gathered interesting information by creating a questionnaire answering the questions mentioned above. With an input from 21 countries, the Commission, in this report:
- Provides you with an overview of the results in a quick reference table, followed by a summary;
- Provides you with the names and contact details of our contributors;
- Provides you with the answers to the questionnaire per country;
Enjoy your read!
