Privacy watchdog approves French Covid-19 contact tracing app
France’s privacy watchdog CNIL on April 26 gave a conditional green light to a government-backed scheme to monitor people infected with coronavirus.
The issue of how to keep tabs on sufferers has sparked privacy concerns in several countries but the CNIL gave the nod to the StopCovid scheme subject to civil liberty guarantees and regular oversight.
The French device will, if the country is to begin a gradual emergence from lockdown on May 11, enable creation of an index of sufferers via a smartphone app along the lines of a model touted notably by Singapore.
The idea is to send an alert to those who have downloaded the app if they come into close proximity, for example, on public transport, with those who have tested positive for the new coronavirus and who are on the app register.
Source: Covid-19: Privacy watchdog approves French contact tracing app | The Star Online
