The Secretariat of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is pleased to announce the official kick-off of a Free Flow of Data and Data Sovereignty Framing Study. Through a series of consultations with stakeholders from governments, international organizations, business, civil society, technical community, and academia, the Study will seek to unpack the data sovereignty concept and explore its implications for data flows and governance regimes.
Data is an increasingly valuable asset for firms, governments and society at large. The free flow of data is an essential component for the digital transformation and for the advancement of new business models and technologies, including artificial intelligence. However, different concerns, including related to privacy, trade, competition, as well as security and trust, have been leading to policy initiatives invoking the notion of data sovereignty that potentially would limit cross-border data flows. A first step into reconciling these two apparently conflicting approaches involves developing a better common understanding of the emerging concept of data sovereignty, its pertinence and potential limitations.
