TPP and the future of the Digital Economy in the Asia Pacific Region

The implications of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement for promoting innovation and growth in the Digital Economy of the Asia-Pacific Region are examined. The Treaty is the first multilateral agreement to specifically take up economic and trade issues related to the Internet and includes ground-breaking provisions with respect to online privacy, cybersecurity, promotion of cross-border data flows and competition policy. These are being closely examined by non-parties to the agreement, such as Indonesia, China and India and could evolve into a defacto framework for the regional Digital Economy. TPP may not be sufficient to deal with challenges to greater regional cooperation on issues such as the still growing “digital divide” and persistent security tensions in the region, but its success could evidence the utility of relying on trade-based mechansims to address isssues associatd with regional Internet governance within a well-established and understood multilateral framework.