France has asked Apple to lift a technical obstacle that it says is standing in the way of rolling out a contact-tracing application designed to manage and monitor the spread of COVID-19. The app — similar to that currently being developed by Apple and Google, and which has become a part of daily life for people in China — is designed to help health services determine who infected people have come into contact with, and to help governments make decisions about easing movement restrictions.

The app — slated for launch in France on May 11th — relies on Bluetooth technology. However, Apple’s operating system won’t allow Bluetooth to run in the background if the data it obtains is going to be moved off the device — a measure designed to protect user privacy. Speaking to Bloomberg, France’s digital minister Cedric O said, “We’re asking Apple to lift the technical hurdle to allow us to develop a sovereign European health solution that will be tied our health system.” Apple, however, appears to be unreceptive to the request, instead referring to its plans for a similar app in partnership with Google.