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Update: Biden administration backs lifting vaccine patent protections

The potential waiving of intellectual property protections has been lauded as a breakthrough for international efforts to combat coronavirus

The US government has backed a temporary suspension of intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines in a move likely to enrage the pharmaceutical industry, which strongly opposes a so-called waiver. Shares of the major coronavirus vaccine companies were hit by the announcement but is it just an empty gesture? We speak to Jorge Contreras, Chair of the Open Covid Pledge, a group that is lobbying organisations to share their patents and copyrights in relation to vaccine efforts. And there's no status update for Donald Trump anytime soon; Facebook decides to uphold it's ban of the former US president. But is it up to big tech to decide who's on their platforms? We speak to Issie Lapowsky, Senior Reporter at tech site Protocol.

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12 minutes

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