Oxford Vaccine Trial and the Indian Press

News about the promising results from the vaccine against Covid-19 developed by Oxford university created some buzz in the India media. The news was flashed from July 20 evening after the university itself broke it. 

The study was published by the medical journal Lancet. The vaccine - called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19

The BBC said the vaccine produced antibodies and T-cells that can fight Coronavirus in the 1077 patients tested. It also added that the vaccine is made from a genetically engineered Chimpanzee virus that can cause infection similar to Coronavirus and can trigger antibodies and T-cells to counter the virus.

The Times of India added an Indian perspective and reported that the "Serum Institute would seek regulatory approval for clinical trials of the vaccine in India. 

The Indian Express as usual had an explainer that compared and listed the vaccines that were under development worldwide. 

Overall the Indian press looked bullish about the preliminary results of the Oxford vaccine trial and hoped that in 6-8 months the vaccine may offer the much needed succor to many. 

Big Win for Privacy as European Court of Justice Invalidates EU-US Data Shield

The European Court of Justice's order yesterday striking down the EU-US Data Protection Shield in the Schrems II case is a big win for European privacy activists.

The court, according to Techcrunch, ruled that the US surveillance laws and data protection supposed to be provided in the EU-US Data Protection Shield"...interference with the fundamental rights of persons whose data are transferred to that third country”. The portal also states that because of this ruling "more companies (may) switch to regional data processing for European users".

Austrian privacy activist and lawyer, Max Schrems, had approached the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) to suspend Facebook’s use of standard contractual clauses SCCs. The data regulator took him to court and later Irish judges referred the case to Europe’s Court of Justice, which delivered this order.

CNN reported that around "5000 US companies rely on for transferring information across borders" and they will be now affected with the ECJ order.

BBC said that "Affected companies will now have to sign standard contractual clauses, as per EU laws.

As privacy activists celebrate the ECJ ruling, can India learn anything from this?

Twitter's Blue Tick Bitcoin Hack Raises Alarms

I searched Facebook posts also when I heard that the Twitter accounts of several blue-ticked celebrities and the rich were hacked.

BBC reported that the Twitter accounts of "Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are among many prominent US figures targeted by hackers in an apparent Bitcoin scam". A message was also posted seeking Cryptocurrency donations to these accounts.

In an explainer, The Indian Express reported that "the Bitcoin wallet promoted in the tweets received over $100,000 via at least 300 transactions."

The Hacker News carried a speculation that "that hackers grabbed control of a Twitter employee's administrative access to take over a prominent account and tweet on their behalf".

If this the method used, then it is a very disturbing news. And it also raises questions about at whose all behest can an employee 'take over' another account. Can authorized company personnel do it on the company's behalf or can a state agency make such a request?

Google Faces Lawsuit Over Data Privacy

A day after Google announced its big five-year plan to invest Rs 75,000 crore in India, most of the newspapers splashed stories on the latest suit against the search giant.

Google faces lawsuit over tracking in apps even when users opted out, was the headline in Indian Express. Its story talked about the latest data privacy violation suit slapped by the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, against data collection even after users had turned off “Web & App Activity” tracking and when in Incognito mode. Looks like the same Reuters copy was published in leading news sites such as News18, Livemint and Times of India also.

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Interestingly, a piece in The Print tried to lay out why the tech giants are turning to India. From self-reliance to helping the battered banking sector and the ready mobile payments ecosystem, this piece provided hints on where the proposed investments may end up or prove beneficial. Let us keep our fingers crossed.

But it does not ponder over whether "...Information collection, analysis and distribution is exactly what the U.S. internet companies do best" could pose data privacy problems for digitally illiterate users in a nation where a data privacy law has not yet been passed. 

Google Announces Rs 10 Billion Fund in India

Google's plan to invest $10 billion in India has created lots of buzz in the tech, government, and industry sectors.

The Times of India says that Google will work in areas as diverse as 'affordable access to information in local languages', 'building products', 'digitizing businesses', and applying 'tech and AI' areas like 'health, education and agriculture'.

Livemint says the proposed fund will be raised through a 'mix of equity investments, partnerships, operations, infrastructure and ecosystem investments'. The announced projects include tie-ups with CBSE, Prasar Bharti and a 1 million grant to Kaivalya Foundation.

The Indian Express added that the proposed investments will also be made through projects such as Internet Saathi and the AI-based flood forecasting system. A Techcrunch report details the education projects Google already have in India.

Overall, the reporting was bullish about the proposed investment by the tech giant in India. But, both the Times of India and The Hindu Business Line raised questions about data privacy and data collection by global tech giants such as Google, as India is yet to enact a strong data protection and data privacy law. Times of India also raised concerns about 'digital monopoly quoting Mohandas Pai.

It remains to be seen how the Indian state governments and the start-up ecosystem respond to Google's forays into sectors such as education and blended learning. Also of interest will be how the anti-trust laws against Google elsewhere will have an impact in India and how the legal system will respond to similar suits in India.

Also, the entry of big tech cos into controversial sectors like health, education and agriculture might face some opposition from social activists and farmer's unions.

Meanwhile, the press reports did not have much to say on Google's plans in the health and agriculture sectors.