Hello, privacy pros.

Antony Cook, Microsoft's regional vice president and chief legal counsel, Asia, penned an op-ed for The Diplomat this week, advocating for investments and priorities that will fuel an inclusive and tech-enabled post-pandemic economic recovery across Asia. Cook acknowledges many of the existing and encouraging technological investments across the region but also highlights the need for expanded digital skills and transformation projects, such as the deployment of 5G networking services. He has also called for efforts to modernize Asia's privacy laws to enable new technologies while protecting individual privacy.

Digiday reports some publishers and adtech vendors concerned about Google's new "Limited Ads" capability for serving simple (i.e., non-personalized) ads to individuals who have not consented to the use of personalization cookies. The feature is set to roll out as part of Google's integration with the IAB Europe's Transparency Consent Framework by 15 Nov. of this year.

In other adtech privacy news, CNBC reports Facebook Chief Revenue Officer David Fischer has warned businesses that depend on personalized advertising are "under assault" from privacy-protecting features included (but delayed) in Apple's iOS and iPadOS 14 mobile operating systems. Privacy advocates everywhere responded by noting that since before iOS existed, privacy has been "under assault" by businesses that depend on personalized advertising and that Apple is merely giving individuals a means of self-defense.

If you want to learn more about how marketing technology works, register to attend the IAPP's Virtual KnowledgeNet from Perth 21 Oct. Here are some other KnowledgeNets coming up across the Asia-Pacific region in October:

• 21 Oct. — Tokyo Virtual KnowledgeNet on "Cybersecurity and Cyber-Insurance" (in Japanese)
• 22 Oct. — Auckland in-person (!) and live-streamed KnowledgeNet on "What the Board Wants to Know About Privacy"
• 28 Oct. — Taipei Virtual KnowledgeNet on "Global Regulatory Trends on AI and IoT" (in English)

I hope to see you virtually at one or more of the events above. Until then, stay safe!