Addressing Digital Protectionism in ASEAN: Towards Better Regional Governance in the Digital Age

Abstract

This policy report examines the issue of digital protectionism in Southeast Asia. Digital Protectionism refers to “barriers and impediments to digital trade [including] localization barriers, data privacy and protection, intellectual property-related issues, and online censorship, as well as impediments to digitally enabled trade.” The report aims at addressing digital protectionism in ASEAN by offering feasible policy recommendations for Southeast Asian authorities to help them better tackle the problem. It begins by discussing regional architectures governing digital economy and E-Commerce, and demonstrating that certain digital protectionist measures in Southeast Asia are still intact. It then provides some practical policy recommendations that ASEAN rule makers could adopt to further address digital protectionism and advance the region’s digital economy and E-Commerce. The report concludes with discussions about political elements that could facilitate the implementation of the proposed recommendations.