Asia: Privacy

India’s welfare schemes touch the lives of hundreds of millions of citizens. When these citizens sign up for a government benefit, they hand over some form of personal information like their name, Aadhaar number, mobile number, bank account details and/or any other particulars. This data however, often leads into the hands of political parties. In the run up to the 2019 general elections, a Union Minister reportedly stated that “beneficiaries are present in every poor household, and their testimonies are our campaign”, describing welfare scheme beneficiaries as not just targets but a “new addition to our voter base” .

In the Republic of Korea (“Korea”), amendments to the Personal Information Protection Act (the “PIPA”) were promulgated on 10 March 2026 as Act No. 21445 and take effect on 11 September 2026. One element — mandatory certification, discussed below — takes effect separately on 1 July 2027.

Vietnam has enacted a new decree establishing administrative penalties for violations in the fields of cybersecurity and personal data protection. Decree No. 330/2026/NĐ-CP (Decree 330), issued and effective from August 19, 2026...