OSLO - Norway will halt its Covid-19
track and trace app and delete all data collected so far after
criticism from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, the
Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) said on Monday.
The app was introduced by some Norwegian authorities to
limit the transmission of the coronavirus.
The data protection watchdog said on Friday that considering
the low spread of the infection, among other issues, collecting
data through the app could no longer could be seen as reasonable
amid privacy concerns.
"We don't agree with the DPA's evaulation, but feel it is
necessary to delete all data and put work on hold as a result of
this," NIPH said in a statement.
"We will as a result weaken an important part of our
preparedness against a spread in infection, as we now lose time
for development and testing of the app."