Editor's Note: The IAPP is policy neutral. We publish contributed opinion pieces to enable our members to hear a broad spectrum of views in our domains.
Since I last wrote here, we've welcomed the inauguration of 47th U.S. President, Donald Trump. Having spent almost a third of my life in the United States, I hold a special affinity and place for the country, its ideology and its dogmatic commitment to various beliefs and principles, including freedom, inherent rights and the ability to thrive if one engages and strives.
I've also had pause over the past three years since I relocated to my native Australia to re-engage with the ANZ and APAC regions, and remind myself there's more than one way to orient your compass to true North. Many of my IAPP colleagues across the APAC region and global community have heard our own J. Trevor Hughes, CIPP, talk about another period of great disruption and innovation, when humanity was looking to embrace the highest and most exceptional technology of its day — internal combustion engines.
The red flag laws that existed during this early period of development of these first automobiles shows that rapid and well-intentioned regulation can, in fact, have unintended consequences. The key point I take away from this period in history is that good policy and regulation led humanity down a path of faster innovation and better outcomes without dramatic or excessive failures or social cost.
There can be a balance between regulation and innovation and the IAPP community is uniquely positioned to participate and influence these early steps to enable and protect towards a greater outcome.
For me, true north represents the highest and best member experience for my IAPP colleagues across the ANZ and APAC regions, ensuring you all have the content and community that will enable and empower you to deliver on your promise to your organizations. We're about to close the call for proposals to speak and present at the IAPP Asia Privacy Forum 2025 in Singapore in mid-July. I'm looking forward to returning this year to reconnect with many of you and to meeting new members and guests. We've recently opened the call for proposals to speak and present at the IAPP ANZ Summit 2025, in Sydney in early December.
We've seen tangible law reform and policy guidance across the regions affecting billions and influencing everything. India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act looms largest. Australia managed to pass a meaningful first tranche of Privacy Act reforms. A federal election in the coming months has given the local community time to consider the ramifications of these reforms while preparing for a possible second tranche in 2025. New Zealand is on the verge of issuing a biometrics code of conduct. Other jurisdictions across the APAC region are wrestling with their own sovereign treatments of artificial intelligence governance and data protection regimes.
As we all ramp up our activity through the first quarter of 2025, my hope is that you all opt in and choose to make the absolute most of your member experience — attend a KnowledgeNet event or speak at a conference. Contribute some thought leadership or introduce yourself to a new IAPP colleague and grow your own network. These small local gestures will surely end up having a global impact if we all pull towards true north.
Adam Ford is the managing director, Australia, New Zealand, for the IAPP.
This article originally appeared in the Asia-Pacific Dashboard Digest, a free weekly IAPP newsletter. Subscriptions to this and other IAPP newsletters can be found here.
