European coalition takes shape on coronavirus contact-tracing

It's widely accepted that smartphone technology can play a crucial role in enabling countries across the world to get back to a normal way of life.

In Europe, a coalition is forming around the best approach in using it to trace infections.

Its backers hope it'll help reopen borders without unleashing a second wave of the pandemic.

But not all countries agree on how best to handle the personal data that's collected.

The UK and France think people should trust their health authorities to hold such information on a central computer server.

A loose coalition of other nations - that includes Switzerland, Germany and Italy - aren't so sure.

They believe data should be kept only on handsets so that it's impossible for governments to spy on their citizens.

Crucially for the coalition, its approach is compatible with that of US technology giants Apple and Google.

Together, their iOS and Android operating systems run 99 percent of the world's smartphones.

On privacy grounds, Apple has erected a roadblock to centralized apps by preventing the Bluetooth Low Energy function on its iPhones from monitoring other devices while running in the background.

That means for such apps to work, they would need to be open while the phone is unlocked - a pain for the user and a drain on the battery.

Supporters of the phone-based approach this week backed a roadmap to enable national apps to 'talk' to each other and handle infections when people travel abroad.

The standards row has major ramifications for Europe, where lockdowns have brought cross-border travel to a near standstill.

Researchers at Oxford University say that 60 percent of people need to sign up to apps to achieve the tracing levels needed to help defeat the disease.