About this Session:
Trade is facilitated when Internet functions at its best and data can flow freely and efficiently. Reciprocally, the global reach and effectiveness of the Internet depend on trade. This event discusses how data policies affect companies providing the digital infrastructure needed for the data revolution. The event presents international cooperation schemes in privacy, cybersecurity and competition, and discusses the effectiveness of these schemes and how they affect Internet companies.
Issues, Challenges and Opportunities addressed:
Data regulations can foster trust, yet could also disrupt the seamless functioning of the Internet if overly intrusive. In turn, data regulations may have an impact on the conduct of international business operations. What form of international cooperation is needed to address data-related policy issues, such as privacy or cybersecurity, while minimizing the costs for the conduct of international business operations? What basic principles of governance should apply? As stated by the Berlin Message resulting from the 2019 IGF, working collaboratively on developing commonly agreed values and principles for data frameworks could assist in building confidence in cross-border data flows, with resultant economic and social benefits. Small and Medium Enterprises lacking the resources to map differing national legal regimes would particularly benefit from international cooperation on data regulations. The Session intends to highlight existing or potential international cooperation forms to address data-related policies. The expected outcomes (see below) should provide WTO Members negotiating e-commerce rules on data governance with considerations to take into account from the Internet governance community.