抄録
The Conseil dʼEtat, the French Administrative Supreme Court, rendered a decision on the 20th of June 2020 about the legality of the use of automatic thermographic cameras at the entrance of public elementary schools of the City of Lisses, near Versailles. The Conseil dʼEtat ruled that taking body temperatures with an automatic thermographic camera showing the outline of the body and the difference between the normal temperature and the temperature of the person shall be considered as treatment of health data, which can only be authorized by a European or a National law. The Conseil dʼEtat therefore concluded that taking body temperatures with only the consent of the students' parents violates the provisions of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This decision, which strengthens the fact that even measures tendered to the protection of health during the Covid-19 pandemic should not ignore the European requirement for the protection of personal data, is in line with not only other decisions of administrative courts in France which have been protective of freedom even during the pandemic, but also the attitude of the CNIL (French independent administrative authority for data protection) which seeks to protect personal data against uncontrolled use of smart cameras.
