What Is the European Data Protection Directive?

The European Data Protection Directive prohibits data on individual Europeans from leaving the EU unless it goes to countries where the laws are as strict as Europe's or where there has been a safe harbor agreement negotiated to protect that data.

Only a handful of Asian jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, have what can be termed full data-protection laws, although other jurisdictions have plans afoot to introduce similar legislation, including Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Currently, India does not comply with the European Directive and is evaluating ways to meet the minimum requirements by mid-2004. But European companies have been getting around it by stipulating in their contracts with Indian outsourcers that those service bureaus will guarantee that they will comply with the Directive. Specific remedies for noncompliance are often spelled out in the contract.