Privacy as a Competitive Advantage: How Robust Data Protection Laws Shape Global Economic Development, Comparative Analysis of Sri Lanka and European Union

Abstract

In recent years, the concern for data protection has moved beyond being a mere technical matter to becoming a legally enforceable obligation that requires timely and responsive actions by modern legal discourse; especially given the current rate of digitalization and use of artificial intelligence, coupled with increasing cross border data movements. Hence, this research aims to evaluate the current state of the EU and Sri Lanka's data protection legal frameworks with respect to their effect on economic development. Thus, this research focuses primarily on identifying and evaluating the legal and structural shortcomings of Sri Lanka's Personal Data Protection Act No. 09 of 2022 (PDPA) as significant legislation that represents a significant step forward. Furthermore, this research evaluates the impact of interconnected phenomena such as globalization, privatization and competition on the governance of personal data and privacy within increasingly digitalized and competitive markets. By using a qualitative desktop research approach, the research utilizes both primary and secondary sources including legislation, academic literature, policies, and online resources to compare the data protection regimes of the EU and Sri Lanka in order to examine the implications of developing issues associated with artificial intelligence. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to provide a detailed understanding of the current state of data protection law and its economic impact, while providing practical and contextually appropriate recommendations to address the identified shortcomings of the PDPA through lessons learned from the European Union's GDPR in order to improve Sri Lanka's digital economy and promote sustainable economic growth.