The media controversy surrounding China's coronavirus
COVID-19 detection app, the "close contact detector," has
highlighted a common misapprehension about how data protection law
is universally applied around the world.
Reports have suggested that the app might be highly contentious
elsewhere in the world. The reality is that, in China and other
parts of Asia, this is seen as an example of data being used as a
force for good.
Privacy law in Asia is driven by commercial and practical
considerations. The laws here have been designed to stop the worst
abuses of data in a region where governments support data-driven
innovation, and where a young digital population relies on –
and expects – efficient and personalised services powered by
data analytics and AI.
