Data Flows and Tech Policy in India

Through a new program on Platform Futures, the Digital Asia Hub aims to convene a network of academics and experts studying multiple aspects of platforms, and to create a space for dialogue on opportunities, challenges, and governance best practices in the APAC context. Smitha Krishna Prasad has been working with the Centre for Communication Governance[…]

Australia: A poor model for QR data ‘attendance tracking’

In Australia, two main technologies have been used for COVID-19 contact tracing: a Bluetooth-based proximity tracking app, and QR Codes to assist tracking of those attending venues or events. They take radically different approaches to the protection of privacy, including that the first is voluntary, the second is (in effect) compulsory. Effective contact tracing is[…]

When the Music’s Over – Test, Trace, Isolate. And Legislate?

Tracing apps. Border closures. Quarantines. Immunity Passports. QR Codes. And good old fashioned legislation. Join us on a trip from Seoul to Sydney via the UK, as we hear about the role of law in codifying safeguards, and (re)opening borders and businesses. Our all-star line-up have been closely following (and in one case, leading!) their respective[…]

When The Music’s Over – Contact Tracing Apps: Solution or Snake Oil?

Few things in the COVID-verse have been as polarising as contact tracing apps. Gamechangers, or solutions in search of a problem? Centralized or decentralized? Complementary to human contact tracers, or substitutes? In this session of When The Music’s we bring together: Sutawan Chanprasert, founder of DigitalReach Asia, has been analysing apps in Asia including Singapore’s[…]

The bio-surveillance state: an emerging new normal in Asia

When economic activity gradually resumed in China in mid-February, Chinese residents returned to a “new normal” under a strict surveillance infrastructure. They have their temperatures taken and personal information logged as they enter office buildings, residential communities and large commercial venues. And their freedom of movement depends on an app called Health Code (健康码), which[…]

Saving Face 2.0: 8 Simple Rules for Surviving China’s New Rating System

While China’s new surveillance policy purports to be a “credit system,” it in fact considers nearly every aspect of public and private behaviour in determining each citizen’s social score. These data points are not random, and have historical and cultural significance to the Chinese people, including the concept of “saving face,” or maintaining a good[…]

AI in Australian vehicles – how is privacy faring so far?

Automated technologies using artificial intelligence are increasingly being applied in daily life, and Australia is no exception. Transportation has emerged as a prominent area in which AI and automation are being deployed among the general population, prominently unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs – better known as drones) and autonomous vehicles (better known as ‘driverless cars’). While[…]

WhatsApp Backtracks on Privacy, Faces Legal Hurdles

In February 2014, Facebook purchased WhatsApp for a whooping $19 billion. This deal came under scrutiny from various privacy advocates. They questioned if the standards of privacy and security of communication on WhatsApp would be maintained post acquisition. WhatsApp reassured users of its commitment to privacy through a blog post titled ‘Setting the record straight’.[…]