India should consider adopting cross-border data privacy rules: USIBC panel

CBPR is adopted by eight countries - the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia

India should adopt cross border data privacy rules that allow free flow of information across borders, global experts suggested.

The cross border privacy rules (CBPR) around data privacy framework adopted by eight countries - the US, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia - allows data protection regulator of a country to act against entities that violates its privacy rule in other countries that have adopted it.

"We have to think about inter-operability with different frameworks. I think it is quite difficult to achieve very soon. Firstly, at this stage make it inter-operable and then continue to discuss to harmonise," Koji Makino, deputy director for international affairs at Personal Information Protection Commission said at an US India Business Council event.

He was replying to query on expectation from Indian government which is working on finalising data protection framework.

Jay Gullish, Senior Director for Digital Economy at USIBC said that global digital economy has been hugely successful not only for india but also in the United states as it has created tremendous innovation, investments and jobs.

"Most of that is predicated on free movement of data. India's outsourcing sector processes lot of international data. Indian companies are also increasingly going international. Globally we need to identify ways that we allow information move back and forth so that global continue to invest , innovate and to move information around," Gullish said.

He said that around the world various countries are looking at various privacy model and no one has solution as there is no one solution that fits all.

"If India were to look at this model (CBPR) and want to find out ways to participate in regime. it could possibly support India's economy now and in to the future," Gullish said.