Coronavirus tracing app a test for privacy-minded Germany

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has launched a coronavirus tracing app that officials say is so secure even government ministers can use it. Smartphone apps have been touted as a high-tech tool in the effort to track down potential COVID-19 infections. But governments in privacy-conscious Europe have run into legal and cultural hurdles trying to reconcile the need for effective tracing with the continent’s strict data privacy standards. The German government initially suggested using location data including cell tower information and GPS coordinates for its app, but the idea prompted an immediate backlash from privacy experts. The 20 million euro app developed by Deutsche Telekom and SAP has won cautious support from an unlikely corner: the hacking group Chaos Computer Club.