Global Governance of Cross-Border Data Flows

As global trends increasingly tighten cross-border data transfer (CBDT) regulations, the stakes for jurisdictions navigating international data flows have never been higher. With privacy concerns, digital trade, and data sovereignty at the forefront, policy makers worldwide are grappling with how to balance these competing interests. This collection of papers has been prepared within the framework of CERRE’s flagship project on “Global Governance for the Digital Ecosystems” (GGDE). It is in line with the project’s overarching goal: to contribute to preserving and promoting regulatory convergence at the global level and, where convergence is neither desirable nor legitimate, to ensure co-existence.

This report dives into how regulatory divergence can hinder innovation and growth. Through concrete case studies, the report unravels key drivers of how countries such as Brazil, India, and China intend to preserve their domestic policy spaces and leverage the multilateral space. With privacy, economic autonomy, and national security all intertwined, this issue is now a pivotal topic on the international stage, influencing everything from trade agreements to digital governance.

Finally, the research aims to provide critical guidance on how to ensure a more cohesive and collaborative approach to data governance, offering practical recommendations for navigating global CBDT challenges, and arguing for the importance of trustworthiness as a more objective metric than trust-promoting regulatory convergence. The papers recommend establishing a horizontal working group on data infrastructure, focusing on data flows, and incentivising the complementary use of model clauses and certification schemes. They also emphasise a tiered assurance level framework to safeguard privacy and data protection while accounting for AI’s growing influence.

These actionable recommendations underscore the need for a balanced, multilateral approach to CBDT that can enhance regulatory convergence, reduce fragmentation, and facilitate secure, rights-based data transfers globally. Dive into CERRE’s Global Governance for the Digital Ecosystems paper to explore the full roadmap for addressing this increasingly vital issue.