Micronesia

Domestic law and policy

Micronesia is still in the early stages of enabling an environment for digital public infrastructure, however, part of the plans to be implemented by 2026 include “creation of a legal and regulatory framework for Digital Government through the development of institutional and data governance arrangements”. [27] This will also include frameworks for data security and protection, privacy, transparency, and non-discrimination, among others.[28]

Data Protection

There are no data management and no data protection standards in place under Micronesia’s paper-based system,[29] though the four states have a practice of not sharing birth and death data collected through civil registration to other government departments without the consent of the individual.[30] It is also unclear whether the national ID system will include biometric data other than plans to “facilitate the authentication of [legal] identity and electronic signature online.” [31]

In December 2021, the Cybersecurity Roadmap of Micronesia was written as a guide for the development of a national cybersecurity strategy with supporting policies, law and regulations in three stages over the course of six years. [32] Stage 3, to occur in years 4-6, focuses on Personal Data Protection and encourages “enacting a legal framework to protect [Micronesian] citizens’ personal data and privacy” as part of plans to move forward with an e-government and e-commerce system. [33] This roadmap is said to include results from consultations with local stakeholders done in October 2021, but the nature of the consultations and who attended was not detailed. [34] In November 2024, Micronesia held an Inaugural Cybersecurity Symposium, which had “four key themes: the development of a comprehensive National Cybersecurity Strategy, protection of critical infrastructure (with a particular focus on education), addressing regional cybersecurity threats, and building capacity for cybersecurity resilience”.[35] Establishing a legal framework through policies such as “the Cybersecurity Act, Personal Data Protection Act, and Cybercrime Act” were also discussed, but are yet to be established.[36]

 In March 2025, there was a cyberware attack on the government health agency of the state of Yap, which forced the state to shut down all computers in the agency. [37] This highlights the need for Micronesia to establish its cybersecurity and data protection legal framework, which are still in the planning stage.

International Commitments

As a party to the CRC, Micronesia is responsible for ensuring that every birth is registered immediately as well as to ensure that no child is left stateless.[38] The Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project includes constructing necessary infrastructure to improve broadband and internet access in the outer islands, [39] which should improve data collection and registration and help meet these CRC responsibilities.

References
27.^
Peter Wulf and Sonya Sampson, ‘ Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project – Environmental and Social Management Plan’ (9 December 2019) 15, <https://www.tci.gov.fm/documents/communications/digitalfsm/digital-fsm-esmp-final-2019.pdf> accessed 27 November 2024.
28.^
Peter Wulf and Sonya Sampson, ‘ Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project – Environmental and Social Management Plan’ (9 December 2019) 15, <https://www.tci.gov.fm/documents/communications/digitalfsm/digital-fsm-esmp-final-2019.pdf> accessed 27 November 2024.
29.^
Peter Wulf and Sonya Sampson, ‘ Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project – Environmental and Social Management Plan’ (9 December 2019) 15, <https://www.tci.gov.fm/documents/communications/digitalfsm/digital-fsm-esmp-final-2019.pdf> accessed 27 November 2024.
30.^
Mitzue S. Paulis ‘Pacific Regional Workshop on Legal Identity and Identity Security’ (8 July 2019)  <https://slidetodoc.com/pacific-regional-workshop-on-legal-identity-and-identity/> accessed 27 November 2024.
31.^
 Peter Wulf and Sonya Sampson, ‘ Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project – Environmental and Social Management Plan’ (9 December 2019) 15, 18, 27, <https://www.tci.gov.fm/documents/communications/digitalfsm/digital-fsm-esmp-final-2019.pdf> accessed 27 November 2024.
32.^
‘Cybersecurity Roadmap: Federated States of Micronesia” (December 2021) <https://www.apt.int/sites/default/files/2022/03/Cybersecurity_Roadmap_for_FSM_December_2021.pdf>  accessed 27 November 2024.
33.^
‘Cybersecurity Roadmap: Federated States of Micronesia” (December 2021) 22 <https://www.apt.int/sites/default/files/2022/03/Cybersecurity_Roadmap_for_FSM_December_2021.pdf>  accessed 27 November 2024.
34.^
‘Cybersecurity Roadmap: Federated States of Micronesia” (December 2021) 3 <https://www.apt.int/sites/default/files/2022/03/Cybersecurity_Roadmap_for_FSM_December_2021.pdf>  accessed 27 November 2024.
35.^
Marly Fredrick, ‘The FSM Advances Digital Security with Inaugural Cybersecurity Symposium’ (The National Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, 29 November 2024) <https://gov.fm/the-fsm-advances-digital-security-with-inaugural-cybersecurity-symposium/> accessed 19 May 2025.
36.^
Marly Fredrick, ‘The FSM Advances Digital Security with Inaugural Cybersecurity Symposium’ (The National Government of the Federated States of Micronesia, 29 November 2024) <https://gov.fm/the-fsm-advances-digital-security-with-inaugural-cybersecurity-symposium/> accessed 19 May 2025.
37.^
Pierluigi Paganini, ‘A Ransomware Attack Hit the Micronesian State of Yap, Causing the Health System Network to Go Down.’ (Security Affairs, 16 March 2025) <https://securityaffairs.com/175445/cyber-crime/a-ransomware-attack-hit-the-micronesian-state-of-yap.html> accessed 19 May 2025.
38.^
Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding observations on the second periodic report of the Federated States of Micronesia, 3 April 2020, CRC/C/FSM/CO/2, available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/concluding-observations/crccfsmco2-concluding-observations-second-periodic-report
39.^
Peter Wulf and Sonya Sampson, ‘ Digital Federated States of Micronesia Project – Environmental and Social Management Plan’ (9 December 2019) 111, <https://www.tci.gov.fm/documents/communications/digitalfsm/digital-fsm-esmp-final-2019.pdf> accessed 27 November 2024.
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