Apple is beginning to reopen its retail stores around the globe and is taking measures to help ensure customers and staff stay safe during the coronavirus crisis. One of those measures, checking the temperature of customers before they’re allowed to enter, is raising concerns for at least one German data privacy regulator.
Bloomberg Law reports a data protection agency in the German state of Hesse is concerned that Apple’s temperature checks violate European Union privacy rules. The agency has launched a probe into the process.
Ulrike Muller, a spokesperson for the Hessian Data Protection Commissioner, told the publication that there are no results yet from the probe and the office is coordinating with other German data protection authorities.
Apple began reopening its German retail stores on May 11, focusing on Genius Bar service and support. The company is requiring the temperature checks (which are performed using a non-contact forehead thermometer) and is limiting the number of customers allowed in the store at once to ensure social distancing.
The 15 German Apple retail locations are also running under reduced hours, and additional social distancing measures are in place, including ensuring that all employee/customer interactions take place across tables. Also, a product delivery relay system is in place to limit employees from moving around in the store.
