Europe

UK Suspends Access to Biobank Data After Listings Appear on China’s Alibaba

Officials say no direct personal identifiers were included and no purchases were made.
UK Suspends Access to Biobank Data After Listings Appear on China’s Alibaba
Attendees pass by an Alibaba.com display at CES 2019 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas on Jan. 8, 2019. David Becker/Getty Images
Evgenia Filimianova
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The UK government has paused researcher downloads from the UK Biobank after de-identified participant data was advertised for sale on Alibaba-linked e-commerce platforms in China.

The incident prompted a security review and renewed scrutiny of protections surrounding one of the world’s largest biomedical research databases.

Evgenia Filimianova
Evgenia Filimianova
Author
Evgenia Filimianova is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of international stories, with a particular interest in foreign policy, economy, and UK politics.