Data Free Flow with Trust: Overcoming Barriers to Cross-Border Data FlowsB R I E F I N G P A P E RJ A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3
ContentsIntroduction1 Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT)2 Policy and business challenges2.1 The policy angle2.2 The business perspective3 Recent policy processes and available tools3.1 The policy layer3.2 The tool layer 4 Call to action4.1 Institutional mechanism4.2 Business tools for interoperability and beyond5 ConclusionContributors Endnotes34556778999101112Cover: Gettyimages/AF-studio Inside: Gettyimages/AliseFoxDisclaimer This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders.© 2023 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.Data Free Flow with Trust: Overcoming Barriers to Cross-Border Data Flows2
IntroductionThe movement of data across country borders is essential to the global economy – carrying information and enabling innovation, value and wealth. When data flows across borders, it is possible to deliver more to more people and produce more benefits for people and planet.Many countries are putting forward regulations to constrain data flow in order to deal with the challenges of privacy, national security and intellectual property, or for economic reasons such as protecting domestic jobs. Such restrictions, even if well-intentioned, can lead to regulatory fragmentation and challenges for business, especially when combined with data localization requirements. If undermined, this could ultimately weaken global trade flows and limit the societal benefits for all. Unfortunately, the current fragmented approach has stalled (or even potentially set back) policy efforts to implement frameworks for cross-border data flows.This paper highlights the importance of such data flows and urges global leaders in the public and private sectors to take collective action to work towards a shared understanding of them with a view to implementing “Data Free Flow with Trust” (DFFT) – an umbrella concept for facilitating trust-based data exchanges – through policy mechanisms and concrete tools for businesses. However, it is important to note that the paper focuses mainly on business-to-business (B2B) data transfers across borders.The aim is not to provide a definitive or exhaustive list of policy recommendations and tools that can address the immediate and long-term challenges. Rather, it is to review the...
