The G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) forum delegates agreed that data governance was important in supporting the protection of personal data, business, and international trade as well as the flow of data across countries.
"The delegation agreed that the global data governance framework that included the protection of personal data, data privacy, and the elimination of trade barriers was the basis to support business operations, international trade, and the flow of data across countries," Chairwoman of DEWG and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Mira Tayyiba, noted in a press release quoted on Thursday.
This agreement was reached after the second day of the DEWG I session in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on March 30. Representatives of G20 member countries were present virtually at this meeting.
Delegates supported efforts to reach a common understanding of data flow and digital identity in a safe digital environment. They also agreed to carry forward the discussions held in the previous presidency.
Although they reached a mutual understanding for data flow, the delegation deemed it unnecessary to open a discussion on the definition of trust and reliability in "data free flow with trust" and the four principles of data flow across national borders.
"However, focus on practice and operations to respect the different rules of each G20 country," she stated.
During the meeting, the delegates advised the G20 forum to take gradual and less ambitious steps regarding data governance.
"Delegates urged the forum to adopt a simultaneous approach and focus on less ambitious efforts by sharing policies and experiences with regard to data governance," Tayyiba remarked.
Tayyiba also called on the delegates to continue to work and follow up on developments pertaining to data governance issues in accordance with the concept proposed during Indonesia's Presidency in G20.
"The issue of cross-border data flow is quite a challenging issue. We will seek approval to continue (to address) this important issue in the direction that we have outlined through the concept proposed by Indonesia's Presidency in G20," she remarked.
The first DEWG meeting was held on March 29-30 in Senggigi, West Lombok. The meeting was opened by Minister of Communication and Informatics, Johnny G. Plate.
The first DEWG session was also attended by global and national expert partners, who presented their studies on each of the priority issues brought up by this international forum.
The three issues brought up during the DEWG are connectivity and post-COVID-19 recovery, digital literacy and skills, and cross-border data flows.
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