Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur on Sunday said that if there was no regulatory framework for cross-border data flow, data would be traded illegally.
He made the remark at a workshop in reference to media reports on top Awami Legue leaders鈥� alleged embezzling of thousands of crores of taka by selling personal information of citizens.
The workshop, titled 鈥楥ross-Border Data Flow: A Bangladesh Perspective鈥�, was jointly organised by the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh and the World Bank at a hotel in the capital Dhaka.
The central bank governor said that Bangladeshi citizens spend over $5 billion each year on medical treatment abroad.
He stated that most people travel to countries like India and Thailand because their healthcare systems are significantly better than what is available in Bangladesh.
He, however, pointed out that much of this money is sent out unofficially, which is putting a significant strain on Bangladesh鈥檚 balance of payments.
In order to ensuring proper data flow, Ahsan H Mansur said, 鈥榃e need to reform our localisation policies and infrastructural systems immediately.鈥�
In the key presentation, Ashiqur Rahman, principal economist of PRI Bangladesh, said that data in Bangladesh was not governed by a unified system.
鈥楥ross-border data flow is crucial for digital services like e-commerce, and for the country to tap into the global digital economy,鈥� he said.
鈥楢 recent estimate suggests restrictive data regime may hinder imports, enhance import prices, and thereby have deleterious impacts on economic growth,鈥� the presentation stated.
鈥楥ross-border data flow, however, also poses significant challenges related to privacy, security, and regulatory compliance. Balancing of these factors requires coordinated efforts at both national and regional levels,鈥� Ashikur said.
He recommended developing and implementing a dedicated data protection regime that clarifies rights for data subjects, clear responsibilities for controllers and processors of personal data, clear provisions for transborder data flows, and establishes an effective supervisory and enforcement authority.
He also suggested fostering bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements with other countries to facilitate easier and cost-effective cross border data transfers.
He further recommended investing in local digital infrastructure to reduce reliance on foreign data centres and enhancing data sovereignty, enhancing cybersecurity measures, reform data localisation policies, among other things.
Zaidi Sattar, chairman of the PRI Bangladesh, moderated the workshop, with experts present there.