Overview:

• In a ‘Joint Declaration on Privacy and the Protection of Personal Data: Strengthening trust in the digital environment’ the countries have called for rapid technological developments, in the area of digital and information technologies as new challenges are coming up for the protection and privacy of personal data.
• To foster free data flow the key is to harness the opportunities which are presented by the digital economy.
• It must also be ensured by the countries’ respective legal frameworks, that an individual’s right to privacy as well as the protection of personal data is treated as a fundamental freedom and adhered to.

Which are the countries that have called for data protection?

The countries along with the European Union are India, Comoros, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Mauritius, Singapore, South Korea, and Sri Lanka.

Why did this declaration come to the forefront?

The joint declaration has been issued as there is a lack of trust in how data is handled and this has negatively impacted the economies and societies of the respective countries. Due to this communities and individuals are hesitant to adopt new technologies, sharing personal data with commercial exchanges and foreign partners is also becoming a huge challenge. To face this challenge this declaration has been issued so that high data protection and privacy standards can be promoted and will help in the development of the said nations.