StopCovid

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StopCovid France
Basic data

Publishing year 2020
Current  version 1.1.0 ( Android -
Google Play Store)
June 26, 2020

1.1.1 ( iOS )
June 29, 2020

operating system Android , iOS
programming language Java , Kotlin , Swift
category COVID-19 app
License Mozilla Public License, Version 2.0
German speaking Yes
Others Arabic, English, Italian, Portuguese, SpanishTemplate: Infobox software / maintenance / other
https://stopcovid.gouv.fr/
https://bonjour.stopcovid.gouv.fr/

StopCovid (App name: StopCovid France ) is a since June 2, 2020 available to COVID-19 app for Kontaktnachverfolgung in France .

Use is voluntary; According to experts, at least 80 percent of the population should use the app for efficient contact tracking, others speak of 60. percent of the population, which corresponds to 53,594,400 and 40,195,800 users with a population of 66,993,000 (January 1, 2019); the French government sees the app as effective from several million users. It can also be used by travelers from outside France and cross-border commuters.

functionality

The Bluetooth function is used to exchange randomly generated pseudo identifiers between two active end devices; these pseudo-IDs are automatically renewed every 15 minutes and consist of a series of numbers, letters and characters. The location data is not saved or exchanged. Using a static model, an estimated value is used for the approximation of two end devices.

The data exchange between the end device and the server, which is centrally managed by the French Ministère des Affaires sociales et de la Santé ( Ministry of Health and Solidarity ), only takes place with consent to a positive coronavirus test, which is sent via QR code or a combination of numbers and letters that you get from a laboratory, doctor or hospital, can be entered into the app. In this case, the apps of the other users are informed and can be tested or put into quarantine voluntarily. No information about the other device users or their models is transmitted.

The app does not take into account the respective contact context (closed, open space, etc.), nor the possible wearing of mouth and nose protection , etc. It can be temporarily deactivated at any time. The data stored on the end device and the central server are automatically deleted after 14 days. The stored data and connections can also be deleted independently and logged off from the app and then uninstalled.

development

The app was developed under the supervision of the Ministry of Health and Solidarity and the Secrétaire d'État chargé du Numérique ( State Secretary for Digital ) Cédric O by the following companies or institutes: Institut national de recherche en informatique et en automatique (INRIA) (responsible for : coordination and transmission protocol, privacy-by-design), Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information (cybersecurity), Capgemini (back-end architecture and development), Dassault Systèmes (SecNumCloud qualified sovereign data infrastructure), Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (health models), Lunabee Studio (development of mobile applications), Orange (application distribution and interoperability), Withings (connected objects) and the French public health system (integration and coordination of the application in the global strategy of contact tracing).

legislative branch

On May 27, 2020, the National Assembly voted with 338 for, 215 against and 21 abstentions and on the same day the Senate with 186 for, 127 against and 29 abstentions for the use of the app.

privacy

The French data protection authority Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL) endorsed the app, which was created on the basis of a government ordinance, but warned that the app should remain voluntary and non-use should not result in any sanctions. In addition, new data protection issues have arisen that still need to be resolved, such as the issue of providing specific information by and by minors and parents of minors.

It complies with the regulations for the protection of personal data; see General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Privacy by Design .

distribution

According to an opinion poll, 62 percent of the French were ready to download the StopCovid app.

The release on June 2nd was bumpy because the release on iOS was delayed, as a result of which a similar-sounding app called STOP COVID19 CAT , a health app from Catalonia , was downloaded many times and thus placed in the top charts of the App Store at number 1 was causing confusion; in addition, the app could not be called StopCovid as announced , because that name was already taken.

The app was activated a million times within four days, explained digital secretary Cédric O. After a week, 1.4 million activations could be counted, which corresponds to around 2% of the population of France. Three weeks after publication, O spoke of a maximum of 1.5 million users: 68 reported COVID-19-positive in the app, which led to 14 warnings on other end devices. The French government acknowledged little effectiveness.

criticism

In order for the app to recognize another device, the distance must be less than 1.5 meters, but Bluetooth cannot calculate the exact distance. According to the information, there is no GPS tracking .

The decision to store the data centrally is criticized by data protectionists who also warn against misuse of the anonymized data.

The contact tracing protocol ROBERT , short for ROBust and privacy-presERving proximity tracing protocol, written by INRIA and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft , has raised concerns about data protection, as a result of which a joint letter from 471 people in the field of cryptography and information security was published pointed out the dangers.

With the decision not to work with Apple and Google , which, according to the French government, would like to remain independent and also see problems with the protection of privacy and the connection with the French health care system, the interfaces for Bluetooth Low, specially adapted for contact tracing apps, were able to do so Energy based on the Exposure Notification Framework in the Android and iOS operating systems , which means that users of iPhones must have the StopCovid app permanently in the foreground ("open"), which makes it practically unusable, as experts estimate .

Due to the tens of thousands of cross-border commuters and possible vacationers, the incompatibility of a cross-border data protection - compliant exchange with the German Corona-Warn-App , the Swiss SwissCovid or the Italian Immuni , all of which follow a decentralized approach, was criticized; the French government argues that only with a central system can health authorities have full access to the necessary data.

Amnesty International France questioned whether the app would be effective in its form, as no real tests were carried out, and feared that it could lead to discrimination. In addition, installing contact tracing software carries the risk of widespread unauthorized surveillance that endangers fundamental freedoms.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Installation page for Android. In: Google Play . Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Preview page for iOS. In: App Store (iOS) . Retrieved June 23, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Corona pandemic: France launches tracing app. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . May 29, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Ollia Horton: France's StopCovid app: What is it, how it works and why privacy groups are concerned. In: Radio France Internationale . May 27, 2020, accessed on June 23, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b Corona app - France's "StopCovid" has few users - derStandard.de. In: The Standard . June 23, 2020, accessed on June 23, 2020 (Austrian German).
  6. ↑ a b c d according to the info text in the app.
  7. ↑ a b Romain Dillet: France releases contact-tracing app StopCovid. In: TechCrunch . June 2, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 (American English).
  8. ↑ The Stop Covid project team and the ecosystem of contributors are working together to develop a mobile contact tracing app for France. In: Capgemini . April 28, 2020, accessed on June 23, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Petrina Engelke: StopCovid: Corona warning app starts on the weekend in France. In: Rheinische Post . May 28, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  10. ↑ a b Stefan Krempl: French data protection authority releases the "StopCovid" app with stomach ache. In: heise online . May 26, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  11. ↑ a b Sabine Wachs: French Corona app: "StopCovid" is launched. In: tagesschau.de . June 2, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Délibération n ° 2020-056 on 25 may 2020 portant avis sur un projet de décret relatif à l'application mobile dénommée “StopCovid”
  13. ↑ a b France publishes centralized “StopCovid” tracing app. In: watson.ch. June 3, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  14. ↑ France's Corona warning app cracks one million mark. In: Grenzecho . June 6, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 (French).
  15. ↑ L'application StopCovid, activée seulement par 2% de la population, connaît des débuts décevants. In: Le Monde . June 10, 2020, accessed June 24, 2020 (French).
  16. ^ Rudolf Balmer: False start of "Stop-Covid". In: taz . May 28, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  17. ↑ Romain Dillet: France's INRIA and Germany's Fraunhofer detail ROBERT Their contact-tracing protocol. In: TechCrunch. April 20, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 (American English).
  18. ↑ Romain Dillet: Hundreds of French academics sign letter asking for safeguards on contact tracing. In: TechCrunch. April 27, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 (American English).
  19. ↑ France wants to have its own Corona app ready at the beginning of June - and attacks (again) Apple. In: watson.ch . June 5, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  20. ↑ "StopCOVID": French Parliament approves Corona warning app. In: Heise . May 28, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .
  21. ↑ Corona app: start date fixed now? Information leaked from "government circles". In: Merkur.de. June 12, 2020, accessed June 23, 2020 .