French MPs from ruling party say their govt withdrew vote on ‘StopCovid’ tracing app

Lawmakers from France’s ruling party accused their own government on Monday of withdrawing a vote on a planned coronavirus tracing app, saying they had been robbed of a chance to raise privacy concerns. Last week, the government bowed to pressure and promised a vote on the ‘StopCovid’ smartphone software. It is designed to warn users if they come into contact with infected people.

Over the weekend, PM Edouard Philippe wrote to the lower house speaker that he wanted to broaden the debate scheduled for April 28-29 to cover the government’s entire strategy on ending coronavirus lockdowns.

A government source defended the decision on Monday, saying the authorities needed to move on quickly with the plans, Reuters said. The move could also avoid a public display of division in the ruling La Republique en Marche group over the app.

The French privacy watchdog CNIL said the app would comply with French and European privacy rules but called for “vigilance” over its deployment. A group of French IT specialists published an open letter on Sunday warning that the Bluetooth-based app could potentially lead to “mass surveillance” by collecting data on interactions between individuals.