INTERVIEW: Expert sees G-20 Summit as “milestone” for data governance

June 7, 2019

Tokyo--A senior official of major international financial data company Refinitiv believes that the Group of 20 summit in Japan late this month will be a "milestone" for creating a framework for international data governance.

The June 28-29 summit among the 20 advanced and emerging economies in the western city of Osaka "may be the first milestone in a long journey" to set international rules on data circulation, Sherry Madera, Refinitiv's chief industry and government affairs officer, said in a recent interview.

The "Osaka track" negotiation framework for such rules, to be discussed at the G-20 summit based on a proposal by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the chair of the meeting, will be "very useful," Madera said.

Cross-border data circulation is seen as key to the development of the digital economy.

U.S. information technology giants, such as Google and Amazon.com, are accumulating and utilizing huge amounts of personal data, while China is pursuing data localization.

Madera pointed out that India and Indonesia, on top of economic superpowers, are trying to localize data.

Japan needs to "create a bridge" between data circulation rules in different jurisdictions, she stressed.

She indicated that cross-border data flows will help to tackle money laundering and other financial crimes, and promote investment from abroad.

"There is a basic benefit" from joining an international framework, she also said, suggesting that financial institutions can save "tens of millions of dollars" without having to implement different requirements for privacy laws in different jurisdictions.

In the lead-up to the Osaka summit, cross-border data circulation will be discussed at the G-20 ministerial meeting on trade and the digital economy, to be held in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, for two days through Sunday. Jiji Press