According to new Global Trends research by Cullen International on the regulation of data flows, among the researched jurisdictions, the law in Australia, Brazil, China, India, Korea, the UK and the US sets data storage requirements in some sectors. Certain in-country data storage requirements were also proposed in South Africa.

Data storage may either consist of an obligation to store a copy of the data within the country (but processing overseas is still allowed), or an obligation to both store and process data in the country. Although several countries do not impose any in-country storage requirement, they still restrict cross-border transfers of personal data unless certain conditions are met.

Agreements between jurisdictions to freely transfer data without restrictions are made in three different ways. First, through legal instruments specifically addressing the transfer of personal data. Second, in the context of broader bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) where transfer of personal data is included under the scope. Third, there are also general schemes to which individual businesses of eligible countries can sign-up to.

Breaches of the rules on data storage or cross-border transfers, where any, are either punished through fines (e.g. Spize Concepts, a chain of food & beverage outlets in Singapore) or other sanctions (e.g. American Express, Diners Club and Mastercard were restricted from adding new customers in India).

Several jurisdictions promote data sharing and re-use to drive innovation and improve consumer rights in specific economic sectors. Approaches vary substantially across countries. Banking is the sector where data sharing and re-use has been fostered more frequently, this benchmark also highlights.

The research covers Australia, Brazil, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, the UK and the US.

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