Depending on where you live, you might have a very conservative approach to data security. If you live in the US, consumer tend to be more open to using devices that share our data, while in other countries, such as Europe, Asia and the South Pacific, consumers tend to be more weary.

Here at Fueled we wanted to dig a little deeper and see what the differences are and whether it actually matters in the end. After all, aren't we all accessing the same Internet around the world? So doesn't that mean then that we are also being watched by the same agencies, regardless of what our specific country might think and have in place?

What's the Difference?

When it comes to data collection and security, countries like the US and Europe are well known for their surveillance techniques. You only have to look at the National Security Administration (NSA) to know that we are being watched in the good ole' US of A.

But what about other countries? Surely they have similar programs in place? The likes of Latin America, Australia, Africa and India have far stricter privacy laws in place than we do in the US.

But how much emphasis is placed on enforcing these laws? According to Kate Kaye, journalist at adage, and other insiders, "enforcement is stronger in the U.S."

What Drives the Need for Data Protection?

Inspired by the EU's Data Protection Directive that was established in 1995, Latin America has been implementing similar laws on how to handle personal data.

The NSA's PRISM program getting so much media attention recently has spooked some Latin American countries to look into even further options. In particular, Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff wants to pass a law that would require any data collected by a company from within Brazil to also store that data there.

In areas such as Latin America, history influences what type of legislation is generally put into place. With a cultural history of communism and fascism, many of the laws that are put in place are designed to fix government records that have labelled individuals incorrectly as spies and other things of that nature.

India, the capital of call center enterprise, creates a lot of consumer data so the focus on privacy laws is very high in government priorities. Data privacy rules were incorporated into the Information Technology Amendment in 2008. It might seem like these privacy laws were made a little too late but, from a cultural perspective Indian people had enough concerns to begin with due to population and amount of available living space.

In the end, most privacy lawyers agree that outside of the US enforcement is a hurdle and not readily actioned. This is mainly because the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who monitors many things, conducts privacy law enforcement including violations against consumer privacy rights of US citizens.

As the world becomes smaller in terms of data access, issues will arise and a world privacy law will need to be agreed upon in order for privacy to stay intact.

Author Bio   
This article is written by Diana Zelikman from Fueled, an award winning mobile app design and development house based in New York and London.