An analysis of the cultural motivations for transborder data flow legislation

Transborder data flow legislation (TDFL) has recently emerged as an important issue for IS professionals. Transborder data flow (TDF) is the movement of computer readable data across national boundaries. Many countries have enacted legislation barring this free flow of information, citing a concern for the privacy of citizens as the primary motivation. The need for privacy is the reflection of a society′s cultural attributes. A framework is developed for exploratory analysis of the cultural motivations for data protection legislation. Based on Hofstede′s research, establishes a relationship between certain attributes of culture and nations that have adopted/proposed TDFL. Using this relationship, discusses the reasons for which other nations have not adopted/ proposed TDFL.