Governments representing more than half a billion people are urgently calling on global technology companies to better protect user data, through a joint statement released by the Saudi-led Digital Cooperation Organization.

The Joint Statement on Data Privacy Policies urges global technology companies to work with governments to develop privacy and user terms that protect user data and ensure that data use aligns with informed user consent.

The statement was issued by the DCO, a global multilateral organization launched in the Kingdom to enable digital prosperity for all, with a focus on digital economy initiatives supporting youth, entrepreneurs and women. The DCO’s member state countries — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan and Rwanda — have a combined population of more than half a billion people and a combined GDP of nearly $2 trillion.

Referring to the joint statement, DCO Secretary-General Deemah Al-Yahya said: “In 2021, almost half of global data breaches involved personal user data. Through the DCO, our member states, representing more than half a billion people, are today calling on global tech leaders to better protect users from the misuse of personal information.

“To truly realize the potential of the internet and digital technologies to improve peoples’ lives and open the doors to economic opportunity, we must strengthen trust that personal data will be protected. This is especially true for groups that are underrepresented in the digital economy or more vulnerable to data privacy violations.

“We believe that the best way to achieve this is by sitting programmers and policymakers at the same table, working collaboratively with other nations and with private companies to better align privacy terms and government regulations to overcome this emerging economic challenge.”

The joint statement highlighted several privacy standards issues to be addressed, including ensuring that data is used in line with the informed user consent, is not transferred to third parties that breach member state privacy regulations, and enables users to migrate or remove their data from platforms.

According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report, personal customer information now accounts for 44 percent of all data breaches, in addition to being the costliest type of data breach. The report found that the average cost of a data breach involving personal customer information averaged $4.24 million per breach in 2021, 10 percent more than the year before.

Working to maintain economic prosperity, the joint statement supports several DCO initiatives to better enable the inclusive growth of the digital economy while addressing the growing challenges of data privacy protection. These include the Center of Excellence for Data Flows, a world-leading initiative to better enable data flows among countries and align data protection policies.