Hello privacy pros,

I hope many of you were able to enjoy the many events that ran across our region as the various Asia-Pacific jurisdictions commenced their privacy awareness weeks over the course of this month.

This week, ABC News published a lengthy article into alleged tracking by educational technology of more than 4 million Australian school students during COVID-19 lockdowns. The allegations come off the back of extensive research by advocacy group Human Rights Watch, which analyzed 164 educational applications and websites used in 49 countries. HRW found that information as sensitive as location information, students’ contacts, and even keystrokes may have been sent to hundreds of advertising tech companies. HRW’s report raises alarms on overcollection of personal information by prominent tech organizations, including Adobe (via Adobe Connect) and Microsoft (via Minecraft: Education Edition). HRW has so far only released its research to a select few media outlets, but plans to release it to the public 8 June.

At the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in April this year in Washington, D.C., top privacy pros were recognized for achievements in privacy with the IAPP’s Vanguard Award bestowed on individuals in each of five distinct regions around the world. One of those winners, representing Asia, was KPMG Digital Trust Team Manager Abhishek Tiwari, CIPP/E, CIPM, FIP, based out of Bangalore, India. The IAPP Privacy Advisor recently interviewed Abhishek to learn more about his start in privacy, what his clients ask most, and how it feels to be the first Vanguard winner for Asia. Abhishek is also one of the many volunteer IAPP KnowledgeNet Chapter Chairs for Bangalore.

Speaking of KnowledgeNets, Australian privacy pros with an interest in privacy for government agencies should register to attend our upcoming Virtual Sydney KnowledgeNet 21 July to hear from an expert panel on compliance with the Australian Government Agencies Privacy Code.

Until next time!