Gynecological testing can collect data on the gene pool of British women. The case was brought to the attention of the British press by Tom Tugendhat, a member of the Conservative Party. Based on a scientific review by Reuters, the test was developed by the Chinese military and the BGI genetic mapping group.
“I always worry if the data leaves the UK, because since then we don’t know if we’re taking the kind of discretion we do at home, and experience shows just the opposite,” Tugendhat said.
Data management rules in the tests state that no data may be shared except with third parties for reasons of national defence. BGI claims that it has never shared data for this purpose nor been treated with such a request, complied with the EU GDPR rules and treated the personal data of its customers under relevant UK law.
“The BGI test was developed solely and exclusively by BGI – without the cooperation of the Chinese military. All data will be stored in the BGI laboratory in Hong Kong and will be destroyed after 5 years,” they replied via email to Reuters.
One of the nine politicians sanctioned by China for highlighting human rights abuses in the country, he leads the British Conservative Research Group, whose members are responsible for re-establishing a strategic relationship between the UK and China.
In his opinion, British companies should pay more attention to where the data they collect goes. (Reuters)
(The post was written by Lénárd Lili.)
