Evaluating the Prospects of a UN-Backed Global Data Protection Authority: A Third World Perspective

Abstract The exponential intensification in cross-border data flows has augmented privacy and security concerns globally, principally in the Global South. Disparate data regulations betwixt different jurisdictions engender complex compliance challenges for governments and companies embroiled in international data collection, processing and transfers. This research examines the feasibility and imperative of a United Nations (UN) backed framework for omniverse data governance to be referred as undpa —United Nations Data Privacy Authority—one that acts as an overseer and accountability mechanism to monitor data systems universally. Such an agency could facilitate cooperation in adapting data privacy laws to rapid technological vicissitudes, whilst also promoting secure and ethical cross-border data exchange. However, achieving consensus on a global regulatory structure faces impediments, given conflicting priorities and legal regimes across countries. Meanwhile, the paucity of robust data protection laws in manifold Global South nations contrasts with stricter regimes in Europe and North America. The power asymmetry around data governance enables violations of southern digital rights. Absent robust data regulations, the personal information of individuals in developing countries exists in a state of ‘ virtual terra nullius’ —an unclaimed frontier vulnerable to unauthorised extraction and exploitation. This legal ambiguity has catalysed breaches by states and corporate actors, with recent examples targeting databases across the Global South alongside firms like Equifax. Asserting public ownership over citizen data is key to addressing this inequity. Binding legal frameworks must enshrine southern data sovereignty and prevent breaches that violate privacy. Ergo, this research advocates substantive reforms to establish binding global regulatory standards for data protection and governance under the UN. Learning from entities like wipo , cisg such a framework would curb unlawful data weaponisation and violations of digital rights across borders. It would also foster secure and ethical digital ecosystems that protect individual liberties universally—upholding principles of data justice for historically marginalised communities. Constructive North-South cooperation alongside multilateral action is indispensable to realising this vision.