Protecting your customer’s personal data: a comparison across countries in Asia

Protecting consumer’s personal data at all costs.

Startups in Asia are becoming multinational companies faster than ever before. Having customers spread out across the region can lead to big money. Unfortunately, in order to get that cash, startups should know local regulations for data protection, which can become a cold shower for your entrepreneurial fantasies.

There is some good news. Though ensuring compliance with data protection laws is like going through hell for some people, it is actually not that bad. Check out this simple breakdown to understand what data you have and how you can use it to drive your businesses without getting burned by the law.

Question 1: What is consumer personal data anyway?

Metaphorically? Your company’s reputation and, by extension, your future. When companies fail their customers, criminals benefit and the public notices.

To remain a trusted company, you need to protect your customer’s personal data. Definitions for “personal data” differ slightly from country to country but the generally agreed upon definition is “data which alone can identify an individual or can be combined with other easily obtained information to identify an individual.” Below you can find which countries follow that definition and which have variations of it.

Question 2: Ok…but why do I need to protect that personal data?

Unless you love answering to angry customers, paying stiff fines, or getting the full Shawshank experience, you might want to keep the data safe and secure. Failure to do so could result in a penalty.

Keep in mind that regulatory bodies almost always start out with a warning and then slowly escalate into real penalties. However, if your company is caught red-handed doing some shady business, you might not be able to count on such a measured response.

Question 3: Hmmm…what does personal data protection entail?

For our purposes, let’s think of protection as the ultimate goal of your security measures. What are you trying to prevent from happening? The standards here are also relatively uniform. The phrasing is different from country to country but, generally speaking, the goal is to keep customer data from being tampered with in any form.

Question 4: Wait a sec, where in Asia can I transfer personal data to?

Question 5: Great, so what are the techniques for protecting personal data?

Wrap up