France could start using government backed StopCovid app as early as this weekend if parliament approves

France could start using government backed StopCovid app as early as this weekend if parliament approves

FRENCH authorities are today (Wednesday) debating a government-backed mobile phone app that alerts users if they have been in contact with someone who has been infected by the coronavirus.
The controversial StopCovid app is designed to keep track of users who have been in close proximity for a two-week period. If anyone should become infected, they should contact the platform, which will then alert the others.
Many have expressed dissatisfaction with privacy issues and fear the app marks a step towards a society under constant surveillance.
However, France’s CNIL watchdog, which gave provisional approval for StopCovid in April, said on Tuesday that the app met legal requirements for protecting privacy and safeguards to prevent abuse.
It also made a number of suggestions to make it even safer, including improving the quality of the information provided, allowing users to opt-out of information shared, and enabling stored data to be erased.
The app will rely on Bluetooth technology which allows mobile phones to communicate with each other over short distances.
If French parliament gives the go-ahead, StopCovid could be available in app stores from this coming weekend.
The issue of how to track coronavirus spread with mobile technology has sparked privacy concerns in many countries who are now lifting home confinement measures as they hope to boost their economies.
The European Commission has recommended that data harvested through contact-tracing apps be stored only on users’ own phones and that it be encrypted.