The Washington Post recently reported that China may be collecting genetic data from different countries through labs established during COVID-19 to detect coronavirus infections from tiny genetic fragments the pathogen leaves behind. Chinese genetic testing giant BGI's is responsible for building these labs called Fire-Eye labs.
These revelations highlight the tricky issue of data security, especially for precious health data such as DNA analysis. Although India is not one of the countries where such labs were established, it is striking that India currently has no legislation specifically protecting health data. Even the recently passed Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 does not contain provisions for health data protection.