In the past three years, the Global Data Alliance (GDA) has assembled a broad coalition of companies to support high standards of digital responsibility, along with the policies that promote economic opportunity enabled by cross-border access to information and technology.
The GDA and its members have been at the leading edge of shaping policies to instill trust in the digital economy and guard against data localization mandates or other data restrictions that undermine jobs, data security, innovation, health, safety, and the environment. Here’s a quick breakdown of how.
- 70+ Companies: The GDA consists of over 70 companies across a variety of sectors including the aerospace, agriculture, automotive, clean energy, finance, insurance, healthcare, logistics, media, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, and travel industries.
- International Diversity: GDA’s membership includes companies based in Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- Global Reach: The GDA engages with policymakers from over 60 countries, including in international organizations such as APEC, CPTPP, IPEF, and the WTO. This global footprint is enabled by on-the-ground staff across four continents, including in Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Brussels, Sao Paulo, and Washington, DC.
- High-paced Advocacy: The GDA submitted nearly 70 submissions on various domestic and international legal proposals in 2022 relating to privacy, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and international trade. Those submissions were complemented by over 25 roundtables and events, including with officials from Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Singapore, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, and the EU, UK, and the US.
- Content and Cross-Sector: The GDA’s cross-sector approach helps enable engagement on specific industry priorities, as well as the development of reports, white papers and other resources underscoring the importance of data transfers in every sector.
- Clear Priorities: GDA members are committed to high standards of responsibility in international digital governance, as reflected in the GDA Cross-Border Data Policy Principles. The Principles also support: (1) respect for the right to regulate where necessary; (2) the renunciation by governments of discrimination against non-national persons, products, services, or technologies; (3) the commitment by governments to minimize trade-restrictive effects; and (4) due consideration for trading partner laws through interoperable legal frameworks.
- International Experts: The GDA’s dedicated team of international experts in AI, cybersecurity, privacy, and digital trade helps to advance these priorities in proposed legal measures affecting the ability to transfer data across borders. For example, our US team includes former officials from the White House, Office of the US Trade Representative, Commerce Department, State Department, US Patent & Trademark Office, Federal Trade Commission, World Bank, and Congress.
In total, the GDA offers unique value through its ability to mobilize companies across a variety of sectors to take action globally on cross-border data policy. In just three years, the GDA has advanced important data transfer policy goals, with more on the horizon in 2023.
Looking to learn more? Contact GDA Executive Director Joe Whitlock at josephw@bsa.org.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL DATA ALLIANCE
The Global Data Alliance (globaldataalliance.org) is a cross-industry coalition of companies that are committed to high standards of data responsibility and that rely on the ability to transfer data around the world to innovate and create jobs. BSA | The Software Alliance administers the Global Data Alliance.
