Shifting Sands: The Outlook for Cross-border Data Transfers in APAC in 2025

Moderator: Josh Lee Kok Thong, Managing Director, APAC, Future of Privacy Forum

Emily Hancock, CIPP/E, CIPM, Vice President, Chief Privacy Officer, Cloudflare

Arianne Jimenez, Head of Privacy and Data Policy, Engagement, APAC, Meta 

Yeong Zee Kin, Chief Executive, Singapore Academy of Law

Once celebrated for embracing trusted data flows across borders, the Asia-Pacific region now witnesses a decisive shift toward data sovereignty. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025 signal potential restrictions on outbound data flows, while Indonesia continues to strengthen its data localization mandates. Meanwhile, regional data protection regulatory updates have continued apace. Vietnam passed its Data Law with strict controls on data transfers, while China has introduced draft measures on the use of certification for data transfers. Malaysia and Thailand have also publicly signaled their interest to join the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system. This expert panel examines the implications of these developments for companies and institutions operating in APAC. We explore practical compliance strategies and examine how these changes impact the development and deployment of advanced technologies like generative AI.

What you will learn:

• A practical compliance roadmap for navigating data localization requirements in APAC, including specific steps to adapt data transfer mechanisms to meet evolving requirements in key markets.
• An actionable framework for conducting transfer impact assessments that align with both existing and emerging regulatory requirements across APAC jurisdictions. 
• Strategies for deploying advanced technologies like generative AI in a region with increasingly diverse data transfer requirements that do not compromise innovation.