BSA’s 2019 digital trade agenda outlines policy priorities critical to powering digital trade in a changing global economy. Smart, forward-looking digital trade rules, including the ability to transfer data across borders, are critical to economic growth and innovation across all sectors. The 2019 agenda broadly addresses trade barriers, privacy and security, and innovation – focusing particularly on policy priorities that should inform 21st century digital trade rules.
Building off BSA’s previous digital trade agenda, our 2019 agenda highlights the importance of:
- No Data Localization Requirements and Cross-Border Data Transfer Restrictions. Governments should not impose data localization requirements or restrict cross-border data transfers as a market access barrier, and should promote interoperable frameworks to facilitate data transfers.
- Investment and Export Restrictions. Restrictions on the investment in, and exports of, digital technologies should be focused on safeguarding core national security objectives without undermining commercially oriented R&D or international trade.
- Support for Privacy. Governments should adopt legal frameworks that protect personal information without allowing for unnecessary or disguised restrictions on trade.
- Protecting the IT Supply Chain. Governments and companies should increase their readiness to mitigate cyber and supply chain security threats, including through cyber and supply chain risk management and vulnerability disclosure processes that are based on internationally recognized standards.
- Fair and Transparent Requests for Access to Data. Governments should ensure that law enforcement requests to access information are procedurally fair and transparent, and include mechanisms for resolving differing legal requirements between jurisdictions.
- Machine Learning and Data Analytics. Governments should ensure that commercial data analytics in the machine learning context is permitted.
- Open Government Data. Governments should commit to making non-sensitive government-generated data freely available to the public, on a nondiscriminatory basis, and in machine-readable formats.
- Limitations on Liability. National laws should include appropriate limitations on liability for technology providers for legal claims arising from conduct by third parties.
- Research and Development. Government should support R&D in artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on a transparent and nondiscriminatory basis, including through funding for basic research and support for public-private partnerships.
Smart digital trade rules that address these priorities are critical to job creation, economic competitiveness, and software-enabled innovation. In today’s rapidly evolving digital economy, policymakers should advance digital trade policies that ensure the ability of companies to transfer data across borders, prohibit data localization requirements, protect innovation, support digital government procurement, and foster digital security.
Learn more about BSA’s initiatives on trade and cross-border data transfers.