New contact tracing rules in the UK now require people visiting restaurants and bars to use the NHS’s contact tracing app or leave their names and phone numbers.
Madeleine Stone, our Legal and Policy Officer said:
“This major legal change requires the mass recording of our movements. This new approach to contact tracing is no longer based on public trust, but on exclusion, criminal sanctions and police enforcement.
“Many people will be rightly shocked to find they’re refused entry to coffee shops and restaurants unless they hand over their personal contact details. This is an astoundingly excessive law that poses a serious risk to privacy and data rights.
“We’ve already seen businesses misuse personal data collected for contact tracing, whether for marketing or even to harass customers. Businesses won’t be able to comply with this draconian new diktat as well as data protection law overnight and many will be fearing sanctions.”