[glossary_exclude]At the recent World Economic Forum held at the Davos resort in Switzerland, global data governance (DG) and tech sector regulation were major topics.

The strongest call for tech regulation came from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, setting the stage for DG to be a central theme of the upcoming G20 summit, to be held in Osaka this June. Abe proposed expanding World Trade Organization rules to cover trade conducted by means of digital data. The VP of China echoed Abe’s call for data oversight and international standards. The U.S. did not attend the World Economic Forum, but should be represented at the upcoming G20 summit. Japan is looking to take the lead on the development of international data handling agreements at the G20 in Osaka.

Abe emphasized that his proposal for free trans-border (international) data flow applied only to business data needed for business transactions and growth. The handling of PII will be addressed at this summer’s G20 summit.[/glossary_exclude]