A European coalition of techies and scientists drawn from at least eight countries, and led by Germany's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute for telecoms (HHI), is working on contacts-tracing proximity technology for COVID-19 that's designed to comply with the region's strict privacy rules — officially unveiling the effort today.

China-style individual-level location-tracking of people by states via their smartphones even for a public health purpose is hard to imagine in Europe — which has a long history of legal protection for individual privacy. However the coronavirus pandemic is applying pressure to the region's data protection model, as governments turn to data and mobile technologies to seek help with tracking the spread of the virus, supporting their public health response and mitigating wider social and economic impacts.

Scores of apps are popping up across Europe aimed at attacking coronavirus from different angles. European privacy not-for-profit, noyb, is keeping an updated list of approaches, both led by governments and private sector projects, to use personal data to combat SARS-CoV-2 — with examples so far including contacts tracing, lockdown or quarantine enforcement and COVID-19 self-assessment.

The efficacy of such apps is unclear — but the demand for tech and data to fuel such efforts is coming from all over the place.

In the UK the government has been quick to call in tech giants, including Google, Microsoft and Palantir, to help the National Health Service determine where resources need to be sent during the pandemic. While the European Commission has been leaning on regional telcos to hand over user location data to carry out coronavirus tracking — albeit in aggregated and anonymized form.

The newly unveiled Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT) project is a response to the coronavirus pandemic generating a huge spike in demand for citizens' data that's intended to offer not just an another app — but what's described as 'a fully privacy-preserving approach' to COVID-19 contacts tracing.

The core idea is to leverage smartphone technology to help disrupt the next wave of infections by notifying individuals who have come into close contact with an infected person — via the proxy of their smartphones having been near enough to carry out a Bluetooth handshake. So far so standard. But the coalition behind the effort wants to steer developments in such a way that the EU response to COVID-19 doesn't drift towards China-style state surveillance of citizens.

While, for the moment, strict quarantine measures remain in place across much of Europe there may be less imperative for governments to rip up the best practice rulebook to intrude on citizens' privacy, given the majority of people are locked down at home. But the looming question is what happens when restrictions on daily life are lifted?

Contacts tracing — as a way to offer a chance for interventions that can break any new infection chains — is being touted as a key component of preventing a second wave of coronavirus infections by some, with examples such as Singapore's TraceTogether app being eyed up by regional lawmakers.

Singapore does appear to have had some success in keeping a second wave of infections from turning into a major outbreak, via an aggressive testing and contacts-tracing regime. But what a small island city-state with a population of less than 6M can do vs a trading bloc of 27 different nations whose collective population exceeds 500M doesn't necessarily seem immediately comparable.

Europe isn't going to have a single coronavirus tracing app. It's already got a patchwork. Hence the people behind PEPP-PT offering a set of 'standards, technology, and services' to countries and developers to plug into to get a standardized COVID-19 contacts-tracing approach up and running across the bloc.

The other very European flavored piece here is privacy — and privacy law. 'Enforcement of data protection, anonymization, GDPR [the EU's General Data Protection Regulation] compliance, and security' are baked in, is the top-line claim.

'PEPP-PR was explicitly created to adhere to strong European privacy and data protection laws and principles,' the group writes in an online manifesto. 'The idea is to make the technology available to as many countries, managers of infectious disease responses, and developers as quickly and as easily as possible.

'The technical mechanisms and standards provided by PEPP-PT fully protect privacy and leverage the possibilities and features of digital technology to maximize speed and real-time capability of any national pandemic response.'

Hans-Christian Boos, one of the project's co-initiators — and the founder of an AI company called Arago 'discussed the initiative with German newspaper Der Spiegel, telling it: 'We collect no location data, no movement profiles, no contact information and no identifiable features of the end devices.'

The newspaper reports PEPP-PT's approach means apps aligning to this standard would generate only temporary IDs — to avoid individuals being identified. Two or more smartphones running an app that uses the tech and has Bluetooth enabled when they come into proximity would exchange their respective IDs — saving them locally on the device in an encrypted form, according to the report.

Der Spiegel writes that should a user of the app subsequently be diagnosed with coronavirus their doctor would be able to ask them to transfer the contact list to a central server. The doctor would then be able to use the system to warn affected IDs they have had contact with a person who has since been diagnosed with the virus — meaning those at risk individuals could be proactively tested and/or self-isolate.

On its website PEPP-PT explains the approach thus:

Mode 1 If a user is not tested or has tested negative, the anonymous proximity history remains encrypted on the user's phone and cannot be viewed or transmitted by anybody. At any point in time, only the proximity history that could be relevant for virus transmission is saved, and earlier history is continuously deleted.

Mode 2 If the user of phone A has been confirmed to be SARS-CoV-2 positive, the health authorities will contact user A and provide a TAN code to the user that ensures potential malware cannot inject incorrect infection information into the PEPP-PT system. The user uses this TAN code to voluntarily provide information to the national trust service that permits the notification of PEPP-PT apps recorded in the proximity history and hence potentially infected. Since this history contains anonymous identifiers, neither person can be aware of the other's identity.

Providing further detail of what it envisages as 'Country-dependent trust service operation', it writes: 'The anonymous IDs contain encrypted mechanisms to identify the country of each app that uses PEPP-PT. Using that information, anonymous IDs are handled in a country-specific manner.'

While on healthcare processing is suggests: 'A process for how to inform and manage exposed contacts can be defined on a country by country basis.'

Among the other features of PEPP-PT's mechanisms the group lists in its manifesto are:

• Backend architecture and technology that can be deployed into local IT infrastructure and can handle hundreds of millions of devices and users per country instantly.
• Managing the partner network of national initiatives and providing APIs for integration of PEPP-PT features and functionalities into national health processes (test, communication, …) and national system processes (health logistics, economy logistics, …) giving many local initiatives a local backbone architecture that enforces GDPR and ensures scalability.
• Certification Service to test and approve local implementations to be using the PEPP-PT mechanisms as advertised and thus inheriting the privacy and security testing and approval PEPP-PT mechanisms offer.

Having a standardized approach that could be plugged into a variety of apps would allow for contacts tracing to work across borders — i.e. even if different apps are popular in different EU countries — an important consideration for the bloc, which has 27 Member States.

However there may be questions about the robustness of the privacy protection designed into the approach — if, for example, pseudonymized data is centralized on a server that doctors can access there could be a risk of it leaking and being re-identified. And identification of individual device holders would be legally risky.

Europe's lead data regulator, the EDPS, recently made a point of tweeting to warn an MEP (and former EC digital commissioner) against the legality of applying Singapore-style Bluetooth-powered contacts tracing in the EU — writing: 'Please be cautious comparing Singapore examples with European situation. Remember Singapore has a very specific legal regime on identification of device holder.'

A spokesman for the EDPS told us it's in contact with data protection agencies of the Member States involved in the PEPP-PT project to collect 'relevant information'.

'The general principles presented by EDPB on 20 March, and by EDPS on 24 March are still relevant in that context,' the spokesman added — referring to guidance issued by the privacy regulators last month in which they encouraged anonymization and aggregation should Member States want to use mobile location data for monitoring, containing or mitigating the spread of COVID-19. At least in the first instance.

'When it is not possible to only process anonymous data, the ePrivacy Directive enables Member States to introduce legislative measures to safeguard public security (Art. 15),' the EDPB further noted.

'If measures allowing for the processing of non-anonymised location data are introduced, a Member State is obliged to put in place adequate safeguards, such as providing individuals of electronic communication services the right to a judicial remedy.'

We reached out to the HHI with questions about the PEPP-PT project and were referred to Boos — but at the time of writing had been unable to speak to him.

'The PEPP-PT system is being created by a multi-national European team,' the HHI writes in a press release about the effort. 'It is an anonymous and privacy-preserving digital contact tracing approach, which is in full compliance with GDPR and can also be used when traveling between countries through an anonymous multi-country exchange mechanism. No personal data, no location, no Mac-Id of any user is stored or transmitted. PEPP-PT is designed to be incorporated in national corona mobile phone apps as a contact tracing functionality and allows for the integration into the processes of national health services. The solution is offered to be shared openly with any country, given the commitment to achieve interoperability so that the anonymous multi-country exchange mechanism remains functional.'

'PEPP-PT's international team consists of more than 130 members working across more than seven European countries and includes scientists, technologists, and experts from well-known research institutions and companies,' it adds.

'The result of the team's work will be owned by a non-profit organization so that the technology and standards are available to all. Our priorities are the well being of world citizens today and the development of tools to limit the impact of future pandemics — all while conforming to European norms and standards.'

The PEPP-PT says its technology-focused efforts are being financed through donations. Per its website, it says it's adopted the WHO standards for such financing — to 'avoid any external influence'.

Of course for the effort to be useful it relies on EU citizens voluntarily downloading one of the aligned contacts tracing apps — and carrying their smartphone everywhere they go, with Bluetooth enabled.

Without substantial penetration of regional smartphones it's questionable how much of an impact this initiative, or any contacts tracing technology, could have. Although if such tech were able to break even some infection chains people might argue it's not wasted effort.

Notably, there are signs Europeans are willing to contribute to a public healthcare cause by doing their bit digitally — such as a self-reporting COVID-19 tracking app which last week racked up 750,000 downloads in the UK in 24 hours.

But, at the same time, contacts tracing apps are facing scepticism over their ability to contribute to the fight against COVID-19. Not everyone carries a smartphone, nor knows how to download an app, for instance. There's plenty of people who would fall outside such a digital net.

Meanwhile, while there's clearly been a big scramble across the region, at both government and grassroots level, to mobilize digital technology for a public health emergency cause there's arguably greater imperative to direct effort and resources at scaling up coronavirus testing programs — an area where most European countries continue to lag.

Germany — where some of the key backers of the PEPP-PT are from — being the most notable exception.

Notion, a startup that operates a workplace productivity platform, has raised $50 million from Index Ventures and other investors at a $2 billion valuation, the company told The New York Times.

A Notion spokesperson confirmed the raise and valuation to TechCrunch.

As startups across the board begin looking at layoffs or raising at less than favorable terms, Notion had been in the unusual position of turning away interested investors for years. With this raise, the firm has amassed $67 million in total funding, the company says. Their last raise of $10M valued them at $800 million.

The companyhighly customizable note-taking app allows enterprise customers to create linked networks of databases and documents.

In November, COO Akshay Kothari told TechCrunch that the company was hoping not to raise outside funding again, &So far one of the things we&ve found is that we haven&t really been constrained by money. We&ve had opportunities to raise a lot more, but we&ve never felt like if we had more money we could grow faster.&

Whatchanged? Just the global economy. The firm told the Times that this new raise should put them in a more stable position and leave them with enough funding for &at least& 10 years. That said, the startupteam has expanded rapidly in recent months, growing 40% since November. Their user numbers appear to also be growing rapidly, with Kothari telling the Times that total users have &nearly quadrupled& from one million, a figure the company released in early 2019.

Notion offers free and paid accounts, ranging from $5 to $25 billed monthly.

Therecrowdsourcing a problem, and then therecrowdsourcing a problem within NASA, where some of the smartest, most creative and resourceful problem-solvers in the world solve real-world challenges daily as part of their job. Thatwhy ituplifting to hear that NASA has issued a call to its entire workforce to come up with potential ways the agency and its resources can contribute to the ongoing effort to fight the current coronavirus pandemic.

NASA is using its crowdsourcing platform NASA @ WORK, which it uses to internally source creative solutions to persistent problems, in order to collect creative ideas about new ways to address the COVID-19 crisis and the various problems it presents. Already, NASA is engaged in a few different ways, including offering supercomputing resources for treatment research, and working on developing AI solutions that can help provide insight into key scientific investigations that are ongoing around the virus.

There is a degree of specificity in the open call NASA put to its workforce: It identified key areas where solutions are most urgently needed, working together with the White House and other government agencies involved in the response, and determined that NASA staff efforts should focus on addressing shortfalls and gaps in the availability of personal protective equipment, ventilation hardware and ways to monitor and track the coronavirus spread and transmission. Thatnot to say NASA doesn&t want to hear solutions about other COVID-19 issues, just that these are the areas where they&ve identified the most current need.

To add some productive time-pressure to this endeavor, NASA is looking for submissions from staff on all the areas above to be made via NASA @ WORK by April 15. Then there&ll be a process of assessing whatmost viable, and allocating resources to make those a reality. Any products or designs that result will be made &open source for any business or country to use,& the agency says — with the caveat that this might not be strictly possible in all cases depending on the specific technologies involved.

A recent rebound in domestic equity prices faded further into the distance today, as American stocks fell for a second consecutive day following modest Tuesday declines.

After rising from new 52-week lows, all domestic indices are down after the American president warned of difficult weeks ahead as the country reels from the economic and social impacts of COVID-19. The daytrading left stocks down heading into Thursday, when a new unemployment claim number is expected.

Some are anticipating a worse number than last week3.3 million claims, a result that was historic in size. If tomorrowreport is as bad as some expect, it would underscore the scale of economic damage the country endures as it seeks to stem the spread of COVID-19 after an initially slow national response that has since splintered into a patchwork of state-led efforts. Many Americans are staying home, a condition that could persist for weeks or months, exacerbating economic damage.

Herethe dayresults:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -973.65, -4.44%
• S-P 500: -114.09, -4.41%
• Nasdaq Composite: -339.52, -4.41%

Shares of SaaS and cloud companies, as tracked by the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index, fell 4.83% today. As with the broader technology industry, SaaS firms saw their shares fall sharply before recovering some; and, like their industry peers, they are now trending down yet again.

Pressure on automakers

The Big Three Detroit automakers — GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — also saw stocks slide after reporting first-quarter sales declines. GM reported a 7.1% drop in sales in the first three months of the quarter ended March 31 compared to the same year-ago period. FCA reported a 10.4% decline in sales. Ford is expected to report its quarterly sales numbers on Thursday. Tesla, which saw its shares fall 8.1% to $481.56, is expected to report deliveries this week.

GM shares fell today 7.31% to $19.26, while FCA saw its price drop 5.15% to $6.82.

GM and FCA were hardly the only automakers to see a drop in sales caused by falling demand for cars, trucks and SUVs. Hyundai, Nissan and Porsche also reported declines.

With the close of a turbulent Q1 behind us, we are not yet free of the first three months of 2020. Earnings season looms, and with it an endless retrace of the outbreak of the pandemic domestically, as sketched by the numbers of domestically listed companies. For some firms, Q1 numbers will prove a bonanza. For most, however, they will likely show the opposite. So get ready for another quarter of confusion, itgoing to be a long three months.

Like many other websites at the moment, the career-oriented networking platform LinkedIn has seen a big boost in traffic as a result of people being asked to work from home and stay indoors overall to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with a bump of 55% more conversational activity between existing connections in recent weeks. Now, to leverage that attention in a way thatmore directly helpful during this health crisis, LinkedIn is introducing new measures specifically around job listings.

From today and for the next three months, LinkedIn says it will provide free job postings for &essential& businesses globally — companies in healthcare, as well as warehousing, supermarket, freight delivery and nonprofits working in support or relief roles — in other words, those providing critical front-line services to keep the economy and society in motion. Healthcare will include companies working in areas like medical devices, medical practice (including hospitals) and mental health care.

Alongside this, LinkedIn is creating an &urgent jobs& board to give these openings more priority visibility. People whose skills match up with those needed for these jobs who visit LinkedInjobs homepage will see the special listings highlighted. Those who sign up for job alerts with matching skills will in turn get real-time alerts of the jobs as they get posted.

The volunteer ads also link up with an expanded Recruiting for Good program to help bring in more people to work with nonprofits in both volunteer and paid roles. And those doing the recruiting will also get three months of free access to LinkedIntalent insights tools to figure out where their (free) ads are best placed around hiring trends and more.

Organizations that have already signed up to use these include the American Red Cross of Los Angeles, the CommonSpirit Health hospital network, Doctors on Demand and New York Presbyterian Hospital.

The new initiatives underscore the bigger trend of how tech companies are looking to provide whatever assistance they can bring to the table in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

(Others include Google, which is trying to help with testing, while also providing a landing page for official and local information, while both Facebook and Twitter are trying to stamp out fake news while surfacing links to official organizations for help.)

Recruitment — which has traditionally been LinkedInbiggest revenue generator (as part of Microsoft, it does not regularly report financials on its business lines) — has been in an interesting position within that.

On the one hand, recruitment and its counterpart, employment, have been two of the essential levers in fighting this pandemic.

On the clinical front, hospitals and related care organizations are scrambling to keep up with the surge in demand for their services, leading to major recruitment drives to bring in people with relevant experience, in some cases going straight to the ranks of those who may have left the profession and now are being asked to step in again.

In the U.K., for example, some 4,500 doctors and nurses have so far answered an open call to come back into medical service (many will have moved on to other non-clinical or managerial roles in the NHS, or left the public sector, or the profession altogether, not just retired due to age), with more likely to come. And thatjust on the clinical front. We&re seeing a multitude of call outs across other sectors, like technology, to bring in experts in AI and other areas to help design software and hardware to slow the spread of the virus, to alleviate some of the side effects, to identify it faster and maybe even to potentially cure it.

In another vein, the closures of restaurants and public places has put a big shift on to supermarkets and other food providers to beef up their work forces to meet their rising demands. Thatmeant that while many people have lost their old jobs due to closures, they are getting opportunities to redeploy elsewhere.

(The same goes for the collective groundswell of people who have emerged as volunteers to help others who are in need, with hundreds of thousands volunteering to help deliver medications or other essential tasks to supplement the work of front-line healthcare providers.)

On another level, beyond addressing the pandemic in a direct way, employment and recruitment have become something of a canary in the coal mine when it comes to assessing how different sectors and the economy overall is faring, and how it will look when the pandemic starts to subside.

We&ve charted some notable developments of hiring freezes, layoffs and furloughs in the tech world already — as well as hiring boosts for those suddenly finding their businesses in huge demand — and the same thing is playing out across other sectors, a trend LinkedIn, as one of the bigger recruitment portals in the world, is well-positioned to see.

&The trend as the virus moves through the world has been a decline in job posts,& said Blake Barnes, LinkedInhead of careers and talent solutions. &Ita pattern we saw starting in China with the first wave of the pandemic.& Positively, he noted that &we have also seen that recovery brings growth as well.&

For now, LinkedIn has set some criteria in place to tailor eligibility. For example, nonprofit organizations that want to be a part of the Recruiting for Good program need to be U.S. 501c3 registered (or the global equivalent), providing disaster response or services for COVID-19 relief​. Hospitals that want to be a part of the Recruiting for Good program (but not for the general critical recruitment drive) need to be in critical areas of coronavirus outbreak (based on impact data) and understaffed and in need of urgent clinical front-line workers for COVID-19 response.

Over time, there will likely be more types of businesses added to the mix of &essential& companies (for example, as a car parts company retools to become a ventilator maker) and nonprofits over time, and also more evolutions in how job ads get seen by people. The main point was to deploy quickly to start work as soon as possible.

&We are keeping a close eye on the situation, but we have already seen a critical talent shortage,& said Barnes. &We&re starting with the obvious companies, but we&re getting these tools to market where they are most needed. But things change every single day, so we&ll be assessing in real time to understand how different sectors are evolving and changing.&