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KUALA LUMPUR: Asia has become the world’s surveillance access point and is at risk of serious privacy violations as measures put in place to contain the spread of Covid-19 become permanent in many countries, researchers warned Thursday.
The Right to Privacy Index (RPI) published by British risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, rated 198 countries for privacy violations stemming from mass surveillance operations, personal data retention, home searches and other violations.
According to the findings, Asia was the region of the world with the highest risk of violations with a deterioration in recent years.
“Asia, as a region, is at risk of falling asleep in serious privacy breaches if there is no transparency when it comes to data use regarding Covid-19 surveillance measures,” said Sofia Nazalya, rights analyst. Verisk Maplecroft humans.
Asian countries fared worse on average than nations in other regions, Singapore-based Nazalya, the study’s author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.
The pandemic has allowed Chinese authorities to Russia to increase vigilance and clamp down on freedom of expression, digital rights experts say.
Many countries have tightened border controls and imposed travel bans. Some have stepped up surveillance using artificial intelligence and big data, alarming human rights activists and data privacy experts.
Among the Asian nations with the worst scores on the Verisk Maplecroft Index are Pakistan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, India and the Philippines.
In response to the Covid-19 health crisis, China took the most important steps to track the virus through mass surveillance, Nazalya said, citing mandatory health apps becoming permanent and an increase in the use of recognition technologies. facial.
“What’s the point of making these apps permanent if it’s not necessary?” Nazalya said. “It’s a disproportionate response to a threat that is arguably not as big as it used to be.”
Also in China, authorities have used voice-activated drones to track Covid-19 access points, fly over people and reprimand anyone who has violated antivirus controls, he added.
Cambodian authorities introduced emergency powers such as unlimited surveillance of social media to deal with “fake news,” which had often been targeted at critics of the government, Nazalya said.
India, which was the only democracy that made downloading a Covid-19 tracking app mandatory with the threat of jail or fines, also plans to introduce a national database by 2021, which could worsen privacy rights, according to the report.
Asian countries often lack adequate oversight of mass surveillance systems and legislation to protect privacy, data rights advocates say.
While challenging, more governments should introduce and enforce data privacy laws, Nazalya said, adding that companies should not ignore the problem of deteriorating privacy rights, as they carry risks to both reputation and reputation. compliance.
“The first step is for there to be that crucial momentum for civil society to really look at what to do when we look at technology, data breaches and privacy,” he said.
“(But) in terms of the government considering data privacy, there must be transparency in how the data is used and stored, who has access to your private data.”
