We’ve found a useful world map of global privacy or data protection laws around the world created by David Banisar. There are over 100 countries with data protection laws. It was updated in August 2021 so it is reasonably up-to-date.
The map of global privacy laws and what it tells you
The map is useful in giving you the big picture but is not completely accurate. For example, it shows some places as having an adequate data protection law. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI Act) is one such example. Even though it does provide extensive protection for personal information, and fits the mould of “an adequate data protection law,” it has not yet commenced and taken full legal effect.
The map also does not tell you the details about the laws of each country. It is important to know what the laws are in other countries so that you can check whether you can lawfully transfer personal information to that country.
Data protection laws, acts or regulations
You can find data protection laws, Acts and regulations in the various different countries around the globe on our website. We also provide links to the most important ones.
Global Privacy and Security Law Book
We have written the South African chapter for a book on Global Privacy and Security Laws. This book gives detailed information about whether the laws of a specific country provide adequate protection.
We can also tell you whether a particular country has laws that provide an adequate protection to personal information. Since each country on the map has data protection laws with varying degrees of restrictiveness in some instances, it is also important to know what the overlaps, differences or extra compliance requirements are between the various laws.
