Convention 108+ of the Council of Europe was the first internationally binding instrument requiring parties to change their data protection governance frameworks in line with the Convention. Since Convention 108+ is not yet in force, ratifying/acceding to the Convention indicates not only a willingness to  work cooperatively on issues of data protection but also to lead in that work.

OGP works to make governments more transparent, inclusive, accountable, and responsive to their citizens. Member countries are required to implement changes to advance open government principles. Becoming a member thus indicates a willingness to cooperate on issues of open government and to actually change one’s legal regime to do so. Countries that are inactive or suspended are not counted.

Adhering to the OECD AI Principles indicates a willingness to work cooperatively on trustworthy, human rights- and democracy-enhancing AI.

If a country has signed a trade agreement with binding provisions governing cross-border data flows (and GATT/GATS exceptions), that is perhaps the clearest indication that the government is attempting to establish international data governance rules. Nonbinding agreements are not included because their language is aspirational; since a government has the free decision to participate in a trade agreement or not, if a country joins a nonbinding agreement they are doing so because they have made the choice to not bind themselves to meaningful action. Language in the text must say that exceptions must be for legitimate reasons and applied in a nondiscriminatory and least-trade-restrictive manner. Includes disputable and non-disputable provisions/agreements.