Contact Tracing in the EU: Lessons to be Learned for the Future Use of Technology in Fighting Societal Challenges

With the onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in 2020, many countries have recognized technological solutions as one of the more important responses. They announced various types of mobile applications, and in the second half of 2020, contact tracing applications became the most widely used. Who uses these apps and who doesn’t? Why? How do these apps work? How were they introduced? Do they achieve their goal – to prevent the spread of infectious infection? What are the social effects and social costs of introducing such applications?

The aim of the project is to explore the technological response of EU Member States to the global pandemic, with a focus on contact tracing applications. The project represents a further development of the past activities of the Peace Institute in the field of protection of fundamental rights in light of the introduction of technological solutions for pandemic management. The project is taking place in several Member States, and the results of the research will enable a comparative analysis of findings from individual countries. Important goals of the project are to identify the risks of introducing technological solutions for pandemic management and to find best practices and lessons for the future.