Europe Debuts New Privacy-Preserving Coronavirus Tracing App

POLITICO reports that eight European countries are taking part in a "privacy-preserving proximity tracing" app that uses Bluetooth signals between mobile phones to track users who are close enough to infect each other. The software uses privacy-enhancing techniques such as encryption, data anonymization, and data minimization in order to provide effective tracing while maintaining Europe's high data protection standards under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). EPIC Advisory Board member Ron Rivest and colleagues at MIT have published a paper that explores "A simple proximity-based approach to contact tracing."