Politicians from the Greens and FDP are calling for the Luca app to be deleted from smartphones and demanding that the expiring contract with Culture4Life GmbH – the company behind the Luca app – not be extended. The state government of Baden-Württemberg wants to continue the cooperation.
Corona warning app – a good alternative
This was preceded by renewed concerns when the Mainz police had accessed data from users of the Luca app to find witnesses during an investigation. Daniel Karrais, the digital policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group in Baden-Württemberg, criticized the app’s data protection and security problems. Furthermore, the Baden-Württemberg health authorities would hardly use the data for contact tracing, and the catering industry would also largely do without.
“As far as the warning and the follow-up are concerned, the Luca app is dead,” said Alexander Salomon, network policy spokesman for the Green parliamentary group in the state parliament of Baden-Wuerttemberg. For the one-year use of the software until March, the country pays an amount of 3.7 million euros, said Karris. The official Corona Warning App (CWA) is a good alternative. For some time now, the CWA has also been offering a check-in function for events and restaurants.
“Uninstalls the #LucaApp. Immediately. And then immediately use the #coronawarnapp,” tweeted Salomon on Saturday, Karris agreed on Twitter.
Pirate party calls for the end of the contract
The Pirate Party of Rhineland-Palatinate also demands that the Luca app’s contract with the state not be extended for another year. The costs are in no relation to the previous benefits, and the data collection arouses desires on the part of the authorities, which are not compatible with the Basic Law and a constitutional understanding, according to a message from the Pirate Party.
The current incident is only the latest “in a series of flops in connection with the Luca app,” the Pirate Party continued. “The trust in the Luca app was and is grossly negligent.” Warnings and notices from the party and corresponding notices from numerous organizations such as the CCC were vehemently brushed aside by the state government. The pirates’ recommendation is also CWA – it provides “a widespread, license-free, open and data protection-technically harmless alternative”. The Bundestag also recommends the CWA for tracking contacts.
(bme)