This is a new puzzle that promises to be for the government: should we generalize "tracking" or "tracing" digital for a more effective containment. The debate divides within the majority and elsewhere in Europe, countries like Germany and Great Britain have already adopted such devices. But what risk do these applications pose for individual freedoms?
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For Gérôme Billois, cybersecurity expert at Wavestone, it is possible to reconcile efficiency and respect for these freedoms. According to him, the best balance is currently offered by bluetooth technology which allows for example to connect wireless headphones or a phone to the speakers of his car. "The huge advantage is that this technology does not know where we are geographically, it does not know our locations unlike GPS or 4G. The only thing it knows is which phones are close to us and that is what we will seek to follow in the context of the fight against the epidemic, "he summarizes.
No geolocation
This is indeed the path that the government seems to favor even if the latter hammers it: at this stage, "no decision is made". However, a "Stop Covid" application can soon be downloaded, on a voluntary basis. It will allow you to be alerted automatically as soon as we meet a sick person up close and for a certain time. We can then be tested and isolated if necessary. A device which is based on Bluetooth technology and which, as assures the Ministry of Health, is completely anonymous and none of the trips are recorded.
But despite these reassuring words, doubt remains. "This is often the problem with new technologies: we adhere to a promise and six months later we realize that this promise has not been completely kept on respect for privacy. This is what is very often happened, "admits Gérôme Billois, who nevertheless wants to be optimistic about the government's desire to play on transparency. "The challenge is that independent authorities such as the CNIL and cyber security experts can analyze in detail what is going to be built to see if there is no wolf, voluntary or involuntary", analyze- he.
A system that must end at the end of the crisis
Precautions to ensure that "everything stays as good as possible on the phone and that we do not process a mega database on a national scale", continues the cybersecurity expert who also recalls the need for this device to be confines to the health crisis and ends once it is resolved. The data must also be erased automatically after a certain number of days decided with the health experts.
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And to control this whole process, Gérôme Billois affirms that the CNIL will be able to issue remarks as well as binding opinions if necessary. Similarly, the European regulation on the protection of personal data also provides a legal framework for this practice. "It is sure that it will attack part of our private life. The idea is to attack as little as possible and find a balance," he concludes.