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Mitigating Data Privacy Challenges in Taiwan during the Pandemic

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has adopted numerous novel digital technologies for contact tracing, social distancing, home quarantine, and pandemic investigation. Effective digital governance, including big data analytics and smart technology, is regarded as the main contributor to Taiwan’s success in containing the pandemic.

For example, the government’s solution to the challenging pandemic investigation for the linkage between patients and potential cases is exploring patients’ daily footprints (down to every hour) through mobile phone tracking (and maybe surveillance camera). The result is then disclosed to the public so that those who have visited these places can stay alert.

Despite the potential derogation of privacy protection arising from these measures, Taiwan’s population has generally accepted the Government’s use of its emergency powers to deploy these technologies. This is due to the government’s transparent communication of disease control measures on a daily basis, and the citizens’ trust in their democratically elected and appointed bureaucrats.

However, privacy concerns are raised again because the exemptions from personal data protection were further expanded without clear boundaries as to what purpose the collected data could or could not serve. The first challenge regarding privacy and personal data protection in the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan is the vague, unclear boundary of the government’s emergency powers to loosen privacy protection and to allow a broader range of accessibility to personal data.

The second challenge is that the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) is not able to comprehensively disclose what personal data has been collected, how it was collected and processed, and for what purposes the data was used. Even though the government issues daily updates regarding COVID-19 with a large degree of transparency, the CECC is reluctant to be totally transparent about the deployment of digital measures and operating mechanisms due to concerns that citizens may find ways to cheat the system.

Due to serious concerns of privacy, the government needs to show a high degree of defence with regards to its measures, given the scope of personal data the government collected, the means of data collection, the precise policy purposes, and the number of different factors and alternatives that would have been considered. Concerns over misuse of personal data would continue to surface if emergency exemptions are not provided with sufficient information as to what purpose could or could not be served.

The third challenge is the lack of an independent data protection authority responsible for overseeing the use of personal data and safeguarding individuals against data abuse in Taiwan’s personal data protection framework. The National Development Council (NDC) is designated as the competent authority in charge of interpreting the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) and regulating personal data processing in Taiwan. However, the NDC’s independence in personal data protection is questioned because the NDC is also in charge of Taiwan’s economic, industrial, and social development, where promoting personal data utilisation is essential.

The final challenge is the bypassing of the Communication Security and Surveillance Act (CSSA) during the pandemic, where individuals’ telecommunication data is monitored in the electronic fence system without an interception order issued by a judge or by the Director of the National Security Bureau.

Until the end of the pandemic, big data analysis and technology-assisted public health measures will be continuously used to contain COVID-19. Therefore, even though fully preserving individual privacy is difficult, the government still needs to cautiously design and implement Covid-19 restrictions, and be aware of the balance between data protection and public health.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

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CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

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Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

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SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

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HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

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IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

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