France accuses Apple of not helping it with COVID-19 app

Tech giant Apple Inc. allegedly refused to help France in its efforts to fight the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — by refusing to make iPhones compatible with a contact-tracing app called “StopCovid”.

Countries are increasingly developing smartphone apps and taking technical measures to keep the global pandemic in check while reopening the hard-hit economy.

These dedicated apps use Bluetooth to allow phones to interact with nearby devices and detect when users, who are potential carriers of the deadly virus, come into contact.

Usually, Apple’s iPhone blocks access to Bluetooth in background running apps, unless the users allow it themselves.

According to reports, French officials want Apple to change the settings to let their app access Bluetooth in the background, however, the company refused to make the said modifications.

“Apple could have helped us make the application work even better on the iPhone. They have not wished to do so. I regret this, given that we are in a period where everyone is mobilised to fight against the epidemic, and given that a large company that is doing so well economically is not helping out the government in crisis,” said French minister for digital technology in an official statement.

A spokesperson for Apple in France, on the other hand, declined to comment on the matter.

Certain speculations are, however, being made.

Companies like Apple and Google — who are responsible for managing the data of almost all smartphones — want the data of phones to stay in the device, rather placing it in central databases that are managed by governments around the world.

However, France and other countries want to keep contact data in the central database, which can trigger security breaches and pose threats to users.

The French minister thinks that “oversight of the healthcare system, fighting the coronavirus, is a matter for governments and not necessarily for big American companies.”

“The app should be ready to be deployed by June 2 regardless of Apple’s stance, and would enter a testing phase by May 11, when the country starts to unwind its lockdown,” he reportedly said.

It merits a mention that In France, Apple’s mobile operating system accounted for 21.1 per cent of the market in the first quarter, while Google’s Android accounted for 78.8%. Britain, which is using the same centralised approach as France to store data, will start testing its COVID-19 tracing app on the Isle of Wight from Tuesday (today).