Meritas' M+A & Private Equity Group hosted an online Data Privacy Update on 25 October. Swaab's Anna Sharpe with Yao Rao from the Shanghai firm HHP Attorneys and Jeffrey Lim from Joyce A Tan & Partners, Singapore were co-presenters.

Yao Rao gave an update on recent changes to data and privacy laws in China and noted that prohibitions on some data flows to countries outside China have recently been eased. Jeffrey Lim made some interesting observations about the balance Singapore's privacy laws achieves between individuals' privacy rights on the one hand, and positioning Singapore as an attractive hub for regional investment in the Asia-Pacific on the other.

Anna covered the contentious topic of when the Australian Privacy Act imposes obligations on companies who have limited corporate or IT presence in Australia. She also spoke about when Australian companies may be liable for the privacy breaches of ex-Australian data recipients (for example offshore cloud service providers). The issue of what is needed for there to be a valid opt-in (consent) was outlined and also generally what Privacy Act compliance involves