Security News > 2020 > May > French Privacy Watchdog Okays Coronavirus Tracing App
France's privacy watchdog gave the green light Tuesday to a government-backed cellphone app that will alert users if they have been in contact with an infected person.
Use of the app called StopCovid will be voluntary, and will keep track of users who had been in close proximity of one another over a two-week period.
Privacy defenders have expressed fears that the app marks the first step towards a society under constant online surveillance.
The CNIL watchdog, which gave provisional approval for StopCovid in April, said Tuesday that the app met the legal requirements for privacy protection, with ample safeguards to prevent abuse.
The app will not rely on geolocation, but instead use Bluetooth technology which allows mobile phones to communicate with each other over short distances.