Regulating Data Transfers through the International Trade Regime

Federico Marengo

 

ABSTRACT: The borderless nature of the Internet creates new regulatory issues for states, mainly regarding national security and data protection. The transfer of data across borders is a major concern for states and they try to strike a balance between a more liberalised data policy and a safer data collection and processing of information. The WTO Agreements, and new bilateral and regional trade agreements, are important to evaluate the implications of measures that restrict the free flow of information in the trade regime. This work aims at investigating how national restrictions on the cross-border flow of data could amount to a breach of the international trade regime. This analysis lays the groundwork for the identification of possible gaps and its solutions within the current international trade regime, and it outlines the areas and roadmap of reform in international trade law.