Digital Policy Tracker
Asia
When 08.10.2021 Where China, Asia Who Microsoft
Microsoft has decided to shut down the localized version of Linkedin for China due to rising censorship demands and significantly challenging operating environment.
LinkedIn in China has been operational since 2014. While Facebook, Twitter and Google have long exited the Chineese tech space - LinkedIn continued to function by introducing customizations adhering to the stricter internet laws of the country. A new China-based platform, InJobs, will be introduced that won't have a social feed but would contribute towards creating economic opportunities. As China continues to rank low on the internet freedom scale, it is time to think how long will it be that all US Tech firms exit the space or conform to the evergoing restrictions to mantain a global market share.
#censorship #digitallaws #bigtech #socialmediaregulation
When 08.10.2021 Where Hong Kong, Asia Who Hong Kong Privacy Commissioner
The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance is Hong Kong's longstanding data protection law that has recently gone through certain controversial ammendments. The latest law, put in effect as of 8th October 2021, is an anti-doxxing law that criminalizes the non-consensual disclosure of individuals sensitive personal data. Any breaches would result in 5 years jail time and fines upto HK$1 million. Doxxing is simply defined as exposing previously private personal information to the public without consent, over the internet. Introduction of such a law puts tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter etc at a risk as it also hinders some level of free speech. As a result, these companies have threatened to leave Hong Kong. While doxxing is a serious offence, anti-doxxing laws can not be equated to privacy regulation. Anti-doxxing limits the right of public to know, journalism and free speech. This ammendment seems like an attempt by the government to limit hate speech against it. It will only contribute to greater self-censorship but further hinder Hong Kong's freedom of expression.
#privacy #freedomofspeech #personaldata
When 30.08.2021 Where China, Asia Who Cyberspace Administration of China
The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), a law designed to protect online user data privacy, is set to be implemented from 1st November in China. The law fills a gap, as for the first time a law has defined what sensitive personal information entails and regulates the transfer, storage and usage of such data. It brings forth key implications for firms that rely heavily on personal data as it clearly asks firms to regularly audit their use of data and only collect information that has a clear and reasonable purpose. It is expected that such a regulation will also limit cross-border information transfer. The fact is that PIPL is China's attempt to centralize control of data and prevent tech giants from abusing personal information. It impacts two kinds of businesses the most; those in possession of large amounts of personal information and those with information on critical infrastructure.
Lately, a global trend to protect data sovereignty can be observed. In part, such defined laws play an imperative role in overcoming data exploitation by firms and corporations. As we transition into an environment that breeds data collection, we must also be conscious about how much of the data is made freely available for use.
#datalaws #personalinformation #dataprivacy
When 19.08.2021 Where Pakistan, Asia Who Pakistan's IT Ministry, FBR
Pakistan's largest data centre, Federal Board Revenue(FBR), experienced a major cyber attack this August. As a result of the attack, the FBR website, "IRIS" system, WEBOC and other vital tools remained non-functional for a while. According to official sources, the attack affected the virtual ecosystem by compromising about half of the virtual machines; as a contingency plan, a new virtual space was set up. Sources said a premier intelligence agency had warned FBR of an impending attack, but Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) took it lightly. In a recent update, FBR's Chief Information Officer, Mansoor, stated that there was no data leak as a result of the attack - only systems were disrupted. As technological advancements overtake different aspects of our everyday lives, FBR's automation is a crucial step towards a more reformed and modernized system. However, with such digital advancements come more significant digital vulnerabilities and escalated cybersecurity threats. When a system houses such critical and vast data, it becomes imperative to have robust cybersecurity laws and procedures in place. This is precisely what the current system lacks. Having a system aligning people and technology to combat these threats by state and non-state actors has become an integral part of the country's defence.
#cybersecurity #cybercrime #dataprivacy
When 30.07.2021 Where Pakistan, Asia Who Pakistan's IT Ministry
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) approved a new cybersecurity policy and a new cybersecurity agency. According to Pakistan's IT Minister, the new policy aims to "enhance the governance and institutional framework for creating a secure cyber ecosystem". The policy includes introduction of computer emergency response teams, security operation centres and public awareness campaigns. It is interesting to see that the development comes at a critical time for Pakistan, given that it recently accused India for the use of the Israeli Pegasus spyware to snoop on Pakistan's Prime Minister. Furthermore, Pakistan's poor ranking on the ITU's Global Cybersecurity Index and implementation of the extant Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA) fuel the following question, now more than ever before -- if cybersecurity norms in the country will be supplemented by adeuqate infrastructure, capacity and will actually be followed through!
#cybersecurity #cyberpolicy #cyberattacks
When 19.07.2021 Where India, Asia Who NSO, Amnesty International, Indian Government
Pegasus is a hacking software developed, marketed and licensed to 'vetted governments' globally by the NSO Group - an Israeli concern. NSO's categorially claimed that the software it used only to investigate terrorism and crime. However, a leak of 50,000 phone numbers selected for surveillence has shown that the technology has been abused for years. In order to dig deeper into this, "Project Pegasus" was launched that is a collective venture by journalists, media organizations and NGOs across the world. While a global phenomenon, those targeted in India include several journalists, politicians, social activists -- some of who seemed to take contrarian views to the ruling Modi Government. Widely being speculated as mass snooping exercise by the Indian Government, this puts forth a couple of pivotal policy predicaments to ponder over, atleast in the Indian context -- will privacy become a mainstream issue and what good do the recently notifed, "reformed" IT rules do if surveillance is not complemented by transparency and oversight? Most importantly, how and when do governments demand tracebility of first originator on E2EE applications and when can citizens really trust their government to not snoop over them?
#cybersecurity #cyberattacks #masssurveillance
When 09.07.2021 Where Myanmar, Asia Who Telenor, M1, Myanmar's Military
Myanmar's military coup has led one of its major telecom operators, Telenor, to exit the country and sell its subsidiary to M1 group - a conglomerate that interestingly, has business connections with the military. Telenor stated that the situation had spiralled out of control and upon evaluation of all possible options -- a sale of the company was the best solution. Telenor invested in Myanmar in 2014, with the hope to introduce access to affordable mobile services in the country, but since the coup, the military has imposed internet blackouts, banned access to social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and practically blocked the free flow of information. Telenor's exit has two-fold implications: one -- violating human rights are bad for the economy, and two -- with M1 seemingly having connections with the military, a hegemony to control information, access and connectivity seems to be on the cards for Myanmar. This has dire consequences on expression, privacy, and gravely threatens the open internet.
#militarycoup #dataprivacy #freedomofspeech
When 08.07.2021 Where India, Asia Who Indian Authorities, Silicon Valley,
Last week brought in a major restructuring of Narendra Modi's cabinet as Ravi Prasad, India's IT minister resigned along with other high profile politicians. The cabinet restructuring comes at a time when Prasad was leading a key battle against Silicon Valley giants in regards to data privacy, freedom of speech and implementation of new IT laws. Ashwini Vaishnaw, an engineer and former bureaucrat, will now be heading the ministry of IT. In a statement, he emphasized the need to continue to fight the good fight against American technology titans as this would enhance India's control over the internet and improve transparency in policymaking. Ravi had been a in a constant row with Twitter over the past month. His resignation maybe seen as a foreceful eviction due to his inability to handle the implementation of the new IT laws.
#dataprotection #socialmedia #siliconvalley
When 05.07.2021 Where China, Asia Who Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC),Didi,
Didi, China's biggest ride-hailing company, was ordered by Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) to pull its app from app stores. It alleged that Didi illegally collected users personal data, and did not comply with data protection rules put in place. Didi responded by ensuring that it would remove its app from app stores and "conscientiously rectify" personal information security issues.
In the latest development,
China's cyberspace regulator stated that any company with data for more than 1 million users must undergo a security review before listing its shares overseas. The review is an attempt to impose tighter data collection and storage restrctions as it will look into risks of data being controlled by foreign entities. Two sets of rules are expected to go live this year; Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law.
It is believed
that these actions are a part of the governments attempt of enhancing control over China's overall data and technology sector. To inhibit tech giants from having a monopoly of power in terms of the data they retrieve. This could be China's attempt of centralizing control.
#dataprotection #privacy #law
When 26.06.2021 Where India, Asia Who Twitter, Indian Government
India's IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, was denied access to his Twitter account for an hour on 25th June 2021. Twitter stated that the suspension was done based on the violation of U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). However, the IT minister criticised Twitter for the suspension, stating that it was a direct violation to India's new IT Laws. The rules state that the host of user content must be informed about the grounds of suspension and must be given adequate opportunity to dispute action. Ever since India introduced its new IT laws, there has been much back and forth between the government and different social media giants.
#freedomofspeech #techlaws #digitalrights
When 21.06.2021 Where China, Asia Who Chinese Government
China's new Data Security Laws further strengthen State control over the country's tech giants. The law dictates that if any 'core state data' is mishandled, the said business would have to be shut down, have its licenses revoked/suspended and would be liable to pay a fine of upto $1.6 million. Such a broad defintion of 'core state data' leaves the government with considerable wiggle room to specifically target tech giants like Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent etc. As Beijing sets itself to become the world's largest player in international data, it determined to not let tech giants like Alibaba to use their data platforms to cultivate an independent power base. The law with its ambiguity on data localisation and cross-border data transfers, seeks to create more hurdles for foreign tech companies. Overall, such strict and confined laws solely contribute to enhancing the governments control on every sort of data produced and eliminates control of data by independent bodies.
#techgiants #datasecuritylaw
When 17.06.2021 Where Asia Who Healthcare Sector
A digital transformation is well-underway in about 93% of the healthcare organizations globally. Investment in healthcare industry's digitization will aid in reducing medical errors and increasing patient satisfaction. The healthcare industry produces a huge repository of data and having this data collected on a cloud platform will help streamline processes. In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Malaysia appear to be at the forefront of utilizing cloud as part of their ongoing healthcare digitalization efforts. Given that such digitization opens a path for integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence tools, it may also pose a threat in terms of data privacy and data breaches.
#cloud #bigdata #datatransformation
When 26.05.2021 Where India, Asia Who WhatsApp, Indian Government
The Indian government introduced a law asking Whatsapp to trace back private messages to the original sender to carry out a mass surveillance scheme. Seeing this as a direct violation of privacy laws and the fact that it would break end to end encryption, Whatsapp sued the Indian government over the introduction of such a law. The idea was initially pitched in 2018 by the Indian government but only recently implemented as an IT law in New Delhi that requires social media platforms to trace their users and report back the information to Indian authorities. Platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter are currently in the timeline defined by the Indian authorities to comply with these new laws. However, it seems unlikely that any of the platforms would indulge in an agreement that threatens user privacy.
#privacy #massurveillance #humanrights
When 21.05.2021 Where India, Asia Who Air India
A cyberattack on Air India's data processor led to 4.5 million customers data being leaked. The breach involved the personal data of passengers between 2011 and 2021. However, no accounts were hacked, and neither were any passwords leaked. The airline was able to counter the cyberattack and hopes that no such incidents will occur in the future.
#cyberattack #privacy #dataprotection
When 15.05.2021 Where Myanmar, Asia Who Facebook
Facebook has banned organizations that have resisted the military coup since 2019. However, ever since then, much has changed as the government was overthrown, and organizations such as the Arakan Army (AA) are no longer classified as terrorist organizations. Facebook has also banned not only the AA but other ethnic armed organizations over the years. This has directly impacted such organizations ability to share their viewpoints on the online platform.
#censorship #socialmedia #onlinecontentmoderation
When 06.05.2021 Where Pakistan, Asia Who Amazon
Pakistan becomes part of Amazon's seller list. This news comes as great news for Pakistan-based merchants and entrepreneurs as they would be officially able to introduce their products on a global, centralised marketplace. This is an excellent achievement for the trade and eCommerce wing, as Amazon's entry is expected to help boost the eCommerce industry in Pakistan.
#ecommerce #amazon #digitalmarkets
When 03.05.2021 Where India, Asia Who Social Media Platforms
With a drastic rise in COVID-19 cases in India and the state's inability to cater to everyone affected, the general public has come together to create an online community to aid each other through these challenging times. Through different campaigns on online platforms, people can connect those in need to those who can help provide medicines, oxygen, plasma donors etc. From viral tweets to hashtags to direct messaging and apps - the Indian community has come together to aid each other.
#socialmedia #digitalaid #digitalservices
When 30.04.2021 Where China, Asia Who Chinese Government
China's regulators have drafted regulations dictating how apps are to protect their users' data and privacy. Among these regulations is the need to limit user-data access required by apps and the need for the information being collected, users being notified of sensitive personal data being collected, limitation of app distribution platforms etc. The draft regulations will be open for comment till 26th May 2021.
#dataregulation #privacy
When 29.04.2021 Where India, Asia Who Facebook,Indian Government
Like other platforms, Facebook complied with the Indian government's orders to censor content related to Indians criticism of their government's response to COVID'19. However, Facebook claimed that censoring the hashtag #ResignModi was a 'mistake' and not a result of the government asking them to do so.
#censorship #freedomofspeech #covid-19
When 26.04.2021 Where China, Asia Who Chineese Propoganda Ministry
Chloé Zhao is the first Chinese woman to win the Academy Award for Nomadland. Shortly after, all news and social media outlets in China removed this win from their platforms. It is claimed that the Chinese Propaganda Ministry initiated this removal due to negative sentiments being shared about Zhao and her work previously.
#censorship #freedomofspeech
When 24.04.2021 Where India, Asia Who Twitter, Indian Government
Twitter has removed about 50 tweets related to the Indian Governments handling of the pandemic based on their non-compliance with Indian law. These tweets may still be viewed outside India. However, Twitter has the right to take down tweets in a specific jurisdiction if they don't comply with the jurisdictions law. The tweets censored, criticized the government and the prime minister for their inability to control the COVID'19 situation as India goes into a deadly second wave. In a similar article in the New York Times, Indians have criticized big technology companies for censoring such tweets and not contributing to verify data that matters - i.e. availability of tests, ventilators and hospital beds. One may question how much control American tech giants hold on the kind of information disseminated and whether such censorship represents their inability to contribute to fundamental human rights such as freedom of speech.
#censorship #freedomofspeech #covid-19
When 16.04.2021 Where India, Asia Who National Health Authority, Indian Government
In an attempt to digitize the process, the Indian government introduced vaccine registration using Adhaar ID based facial registration via a mobile app. While this might be a seemingly efficient approach, it is highly exclusionary. Adhaar is the worlds largest biometric system however, over 100 million citizens are still excluded from it. Moreover, there are data privacy concerns as under absence of laws, the citizens data maybe used for profiling and survilence. With the second wave effecting millions, it is important to roll out a more accessible, faster vaccination program.
#facialrecognition #privacy #covid-19
When 12.04.2021 Where Hong Kong, Asia Who Clubhouse, Privacy Commissioner
Post concerns of a data leak of 1.3 Million Clubhouse users, the Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data inquired whether any Hong Kong users had been impacted by the leak. According to Clubhouse CEO Paul Davison, the so-called data leak was false and no user-content had been uploaded on to hacker websites.
#socialmediaplatforms #privacy #dataprotection
When 01.04.2021 Where Pakistan, Asia Who TikTok, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority
A court based in Pakistan lifted the ban on TikTok that was introduced on March 11th, due to obscene content. As per Jahanzeb, a lawyer at Pakistan Telecommunication Authority , TikTok has promised to oversee and better moderate third-party content on the app.
#socialmediaplatforms #onlinecontentmoderation #tiktok
When 30.03.2021 Where South Korea, Asia Who European Union, Republic of Korea
A conclusion to adequacy talks between EU and Republic of Korea, that would allow for free and safe data flows between the two. The talks began in January 2017 and are expected to enhance data protection.
#privacy #dataprotection
When 18.03.2021 Where China, Asia Who China Cyberspace Administration, LinkedIn
Chinese content moderation authoritities criticized LinkedIn for its inability to control offensive political content on the platform. As a result LinkedIn has been asked to produce a self-monitored report covering the monitored content and has been forced to suspend new users for a month. LinkedIn is the only social media platform allowed to operate in China.
#censorship #onlinecontentmoderation #linkedin
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