As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, here are the latest stories on how the outbreak has affected privacy in the Asia-Pacific region:

• New Zealand Privacy Commissioner John Edwards issued a statement supporting the deployment of the Ministry of Health's NZ COVID Tracer, which Edwards claims "was created using Privacy by Design principles which put privacy at the foundation of the process."
• India's Ministry of Home Affairs backed off its stance making the adoption of the country's contact tracing app mandatory for all citizens, The New Indian Express reports.
• Philippines National Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro issued a statement regarding the collection of personal information and its use for contact tracing efforts.
• Reuters reports app providers have begun incentivizing user consent during the pandemic, rolling out rewards programs that pay users for their personal information.

Editor's note: The IAPP Resource Center has compiled global privacy updates on its COVID-19 Guidance and Resources page.