Nikkei, November 23, 2020

Translated from Japanese

Developing countries in Asia are increasingly regulating the international flow of data. Nihon Keizai Shimbun calculated, based on the survey of think tanks in Europe and the US, and found that amongst the 8 countries that have moved to ‘data localization’ -- which imposes companies to set servers and store data within the country -- 5 were countries in Asia. There are concerns raised that foreign companies would be reluctant to make investments due to cost burdens.

Even if it does not lead to an outright lock-in, there are 38 countries, including developed countries, that have introduced some form of restrictions on data transfer outside of the country, such as requiring consent from an individual for the cross-border transfer of personal information. In reality, regulations in each country are very different. Joseph Whitlock of BSA, a trade association comprised of major global IT (information technology) companies, says that "there is an urgent need to create a unified framework to enable the international flow of information”.

Read More >>

Original Posting (in Japanese): https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXMZO66566820U0A121C2EA9000/