Court suspends part of Slovakia's phone-tracking law to fight virus spread

Countries across the European Union are rushing to develop tracing apps, hoping that smartphone technology could help bring about a reopening of borders without unleashing a second wave of the pandemic. — Niek Verlaan/Pixabay

BRATISLAVA: Slovakia's Constitutional Court on May 13 suspended parts of a new law allowing state authorities to access data collected by telecommunications operators as part of plans to track contacts of people infected with the coronavirus.

Parliament approved the legislation in March, but while the court said it accepted the necessity for fast solutions during the pandemic, these must not lead to an unintended erosion of the rule of law.