Data Rights

This article takes a closer look at some examples of EdTech entrepreneurs and startups in Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific which have accelerated their business because of Covid-19, as well as academics who have been studying the digitization of education and its impacts.

6 March is International Open Data Day, which promotes the awareness and use of open data. Glenn Maail writes about encouraging developments in Asia, and documents the challenges of a multi-stakeholder approach of data governance in Indonesia.

Efforts to follow social distancing and mask-wearing rules have been crucial to South Korea’s success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic, but experts worry that other measures—such as sharing data from confirmed cases—have stigmatised and harmed marginalised communities. 

How has COVID-19 impacted civic mobilisation and organising in Southasia?

Governments, the private sector and other organizations increasingly collect massive amounts of data, some for the public good, other times not. A consistent framework could ensure data use is both beneficial to the public interest and sufficiently protected against misuse.

US President-elect Joe Biden is preparing for a long-overdue national effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. That may include facilitating and promoting widespread use of smartphone-based tracing apps that have been developed and distributed in a state-by-state patchwork.

As contact-tracing apps prove less useful than hoped in many countries, other digital tools such as wearable fitness trackers are gaining in popularity for detecting or tracing coronavirus infection. But a reliance on such technologies comes with big questions about effectiveness and privacy.

Conspiracy theories might seem funny in ordinary times. But against the backdrop of escalating far-right attacks worldwide in recent years and now the pandemic, these myths have spiraled into a dangerous pattern of radicalization.

In Asia, the pandemic has accelerated efforts to keep citizens informed through prompt and extensive data sharing. However, this new openness has also led to concerns regarding transparency, data protection, and democratic participation.

The rampant spread of Covid-19 conspiracies serves as a warning that our online information ecosystem can be weaponized well before platform administrators step in. To counter the deluge of viral disinformation, platforms should implement a circuit breaker mechanism to limit the exponential amplification of harmful content.