Chinese, Southeast Asian company executives more ready than their European peers to face tougher data-privacy regulation, study finds

Company executives in China and Southeast Asia are more confident than their European counterparts when it comes to how ready they are to face stricter rules over the use of consumer data, according to a new study by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

American executives, however, believe they are the most prepared to tackle the challenges of rapidly evolving data-privacy regulations despite differing approaches “across states and industry sectors,” according to the survey.

On a 1-to-10 scale, US executives scored an average 8.04 rating in terms of preparedness to face new rules, compared with a 7.42 rating among Southeast Asian executives and a 7.35 rating for those in China. Western European executives had a 6.69 rating, according to the study.

The report comes after Europe enacted some of the strictest privacy rules worldwide, in the form of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect last May. Some American websites, including media organisations, have blocked access to European users rather than comply with the new data requirements.

Google was fined €50 million (US$57 million) by a French watchdog in January for violating data protection laws, the biggest fine so far under the new regulations.