The Cnil gave its agreement on Tuesday for the launch of the StopCovid application which makes it possible to warn users who have come into contact with an infected person. A preliminary test carried out on around sixty soldiers confirmed its effectiveness.
- An agreement from Parliament is expected on Wednesday before the application is available this weekend.
- StopCovid works on a voluntary basis and allows you to keep track of other users encountered during the last two weeks within 1 meter for at least 15 minutes.
- For 3 days, the sixty soldiers tested the application in numerous situations and the results proved its effectiveness.
The StopCovid application could see the light of day this weekend. All that is missing is an agreement from Parliament, which will debate it this Wednesday, after the Cnil issued a favorable opinion on Tuesday May 26 for its use. The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (Cnil) considered that the application complies with the various legislative provisions relating to the protection of privacy. She took the opportunity to add a few final recommendations for its implementation. In particular, it expressed the wish to improve the information on the conditions of use of the application and the procedures for erasing personal data and specific information for minors and parents of minors.
Several situations tested by the military
As a reminder, the StopCovid application allows a user, on a strict voluntary basis, to keep track of other users encountered during the last two weeks at less than one meter and for at least 15 minutes. If this user discovers that he is positive for the coronavirus, he can warn the people he meets, by notifying the application of his contamination. Some felt that the application violates privacy rules and marks a first step towards a surveillance society. Fears swept away by the Cnil which notes that safeguards have been developed to prevent abuses, in particular the fact that the application works without geolocation but on the basis of Bluetooth.
Upstream, the application was tested over ten days, in the laboratory and then on around sixty soldiers. The test on the soldiers lasted three days during which they had to simulate many situations: their phone to their ear or stored in their pocket, motionless for 15 minutes or passing close to each other, more than one metre, less than one metre, in a metro, on the street, a bus or a supermarket. All with phones from 17 different brands, more or less recent.
A notification when you come across an infected person
After studying a hundred scenarios, the engineers issued a positive opinion on the use of the StopCovid application. The results showed that it can detect almost 80% of people who stay around the user within a radius of one meter and for more than fifteen minutes. When you come across a person infected with the virus, a notification is immediately sent with a link explaining the procedure to follow.
