In the 21st century, the ability of data created on computers to move freely across geographical borders - which do not exist on the Internet - has presented governments with new regulatory challenges.
This is most apparent with the advent of cloud computing, where data stored or processed by a service provider can be located outside the country where the data was created.
Like electricity, businesses utilizing cloud computing save a lot of money by paying for only the amount of computing that they need at any particular time. Cloud computing enables small businesses to have the same computing capabilities as large businesses without investing in information technology (IT) infrastructure.
However, to get the full advantage of cloud computing, systems need to scale and move data from one location to another, often from one country to another, safely, securely and within the law.
But the region is far from being in step and differences in approach create challenges for those who want to move data between the two countries.
In an attempt to prevent such walls being erected, the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum has established a voluntary Privacy Framework and Cross Border Privacy Rules to guide governments drafting privacy laws.
In March, in a step towards greater harmonization, Apec and the European Union's (EU) privacy working group (Article 29 Working Group) and the 21 Apec member economies published a document that maps differences between EU and Apec privacy rules to help businesses enable cross-border data flows.
Asean was among the first to adopt a strategy of cross-border legal harmonization for e-commerce in its ICT Masterplan 2015. Harmonized data laws, similar to customs laws across the region, will be critical to achieving the economic development promised by the formation of the Asean Economic Community by next year.
A recently released Asia Cloud Computing Association report found a widening divide in the ease of moving data across borders among 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The gulf is between leading markets such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore on the one hand, and emerging markets such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam on the other. The leading markets were shown to have clear data protection laws that corresponded to global best practices.
And many countries, even among the leaders, have law enforcement access laws that are not transparent.
The failure to understand the importance of harmonizing data laws will risk deepening this divide as emerging economies fall further behind. The laws of leading countries could serve as the model for a harmonized regional framework and an opportunity to be recognized as a secure digital marketplace globally.
Digital policy coordination and harmonization is a lot to ask of a region, which is why those that lead need to support those that follow.
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