Apple began reopening its retail stores in Germany on May 11, almost two months after they were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there may be a problem.
Apple said the stores will initially focus on Genius Bar service and support. The company adds that enhanced health and safety measures will be implemented, such as body temperature checks prior to entry, limits on how many customers can be in the store at once, social distancing, and reduced hours of operation
However, Apple is facing a probe by a regional German data protection office into whether its plan to take the temperature of its store customers violates EU privacy rules, according to Bloomberg Law. The Hessian data protection agency is investigating to see if temperature checks violate applicable data protection rules, Ulrike Muller, a spokesperson for the Hessian Data Protection Commissioner, told Bloomberg Law that there are no results yet from the probe and the office is coordinating with other German data protection authorities.
Apple has 15 stores in Germany.
