Brussels airports fined by information safety authority for his or her physique temperature checks

Belgium’s information safety authority fined two airports for having checked physique temperatures, delicate private well being information, with thermal cameras throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with “no authorized foundation”.

The Knowledge Safety Authority of Belgium on April 4 fined two of the three Brussels airports for having processed delicate well being information of vacationers with out authorized rights.

The Brussels airport of Zaventeem is fined 200,000 euros (220,000 {dollars}) and the Brussels South Charleroi 100,000 euros (110,000 {dollars}). Throughout the combat towards COVID-19, the airports checked the physique temperatures of passengers. They began in June 2020 when non-essential travels resumed and saved doing it till March 2021 in Charleroi and January 2021 in Zaventeem.

However for the info safety authority, they did “not have a legitimate authorized foundation to course of passenger well being information”.

These two airports used thermal cameras to determine folks with a physique temperature larger than 38°C (100F). In Zaventeem, the folks with a excessive physique temperature would then obtain a questionnaire with attainable signs associated to COVID-19. The corporate which carried out the questionnaire, Ambuce Rescue Group, was fined 20,000 euros.

In 2021, the Knowledge Safety Authority issued a notice saying physique temperature was private information, which was all of the extra delicate it was well being private information. Such information is protected by the final information safety regulation.

The authority thought-about there have been no public well being causes nor essential public curiosity for these processes to happen, justifications which might have in any other case allowed an distinctive course of of non-public well being information.

Moreover, the data given to vacationers was inadequate and information security was not accurately taken care of in keeping with the management physique.

“Higher secure than sorry can be essential within the space of information safety,” mentioned DPA President David Stevens.

For Hielke Hijmans, the president of the Litigation Chamber which units the fines, “we perceive that corporations have been hit onerous by the pandemic and that they needed to implement measures by no means seen earlier than swiftly. Nevertheless, privateness guidelines are an important safety for the rights and freedoms of people, and should subsequently be revered.”

In response to Belga information company, Brussels Airport’s administration was “significantly disillusioned” by the choice. For the airport, the directions got by the Federal Public Service Mobility and Transport. Each airports mentioned they processed information rigorously and even reached out to the ADP for steerage and cooperation however didn’t get any optimistic reply.

The airports have the fitting to problem the choice.

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