Scoping Research on Digital Privacy Issue in Asia: International Development Research Centre

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Scoping Research on Digital Privacy Issue in Asia

Project leader: Simon Davies

Institution: Privacy International

Region: Asia

Start Date: February 11, 2008

Project Details

Context: Why is this project important?

In recent years, Parliaments throughout the world have enacted legislation intended to comprehensively increase government's reach into the private life of nearly all citizens and residents. Competing "public interest" claims on the grounds of security, law enforcement, the fight against terrorism and illegal immigration, administrative efficiency and welfare fraud have rendered the fundamental right of privacy fragile and exposed. The extent of surveillance over the lives of many people has now reached an unprecedented level. Conversely, laws that ostensibly protect privacy and freedoms are frequently flawed -- riddled with exceptions and exceptions that can allow government a free hand to intrude on private life.

At the same time, technological advances, technology standards, interoperability between information systems and the globalisation of information have placed extraordinary pressure on the few remaining privacy safeguards. The effect of these developments has been to create surveillance societies that nurture hostile environments for privacy.

A common view is that Asian cultures do not value privacy, and that this is why there are no privacy laws in Asia. This seems to be an over-simplification though. There is a need for research to engage with key policy and academic institutions to re-evaluate this situation. If this isn't done, then exogenous forces will lead to the establishment of faulty privacy law. These resulting laws will be driven by security and international concerns, and will not enhance consumer protection and human rights standards. By engaging with the key policy constituencies we can together find ways to establish stronger protections. We remain optimistic that a favourable outcome may emerge.

What are the expected outcomes of this project?

This project will serve as a scoping exercise to identify key issues and potential partners. In order to do this, the project will take several steps:

Establish an international advisory board that will include developing country representatives. The purpose of the board will be to ensure research integrity, review analytical tools (metrics for comparisons of privacy protection for example) and advise on country contexts;
Identifying the current policy environment in the area of privacy, through a process of understanding the current legal arrangements and the key policy dynamics and institutions in key countries of Asia. Current thinking is that focus countries will be the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, China, Indonesia and Thailand. These were chosen on the basis of existing partnerships and policy windows of opportunity; and
Engaging with policy institutions and processes in the region, including civil society groups, industry bodies, the media, and parliamentarians. This will also include engagement with regional processes such as APEC, where privacy issues are discussed and acted upon.

Objectives:

This activity is meant to serve as a scoping exercise that will help to identify key Asian partners and issues in an overall process of promoting privacy protection in Asia.

Identify the state of law: Privacy International will research the legal situations in a number of countries across developing Asia. This is not as simple as identifying "Privacy Law 19xx" but rather, they will assess the real state of regulatory protections (e.g. the jurisdiction and powers of the regulators) and legal protections (e.g. jurisprudence). They will develop metrics to qualify the nature of these protections.
Identify key institutions for future engagement: Privacy International will work with institutions, actors, and stakeholders involved in privacy issues, though this may often involve reaching out to groups who did not previously engage on privacy issues, such as consumer protection organisations, and explore potential modalities for forming a community of practice on the issue. Effort will also be made to reach out to regional bodies, national institutions, and industry.
Engage with international institutions in the region to promote privacy: The APEC principles are serving to establish minimalist protections in the region, while the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security agreements are undermining the few safeguards that exist. Privacy International will engage with these institutions, whenever possible, and inform key policy actors in the region of the likely challenges of adopting these international policies.

Outputs & Website

http://www.privacyinternational.org/

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