The July 7-8, 2017 G20 Leaders’ Declaration includes good language on harnessing digitalization.  SIIA hopes that the ideas in this and other sections of the Declaration will contribute to “Shaping an interconnected world.”   Supporting the free flow of information while respecting applicable legal frameworks for privacy, data protection, and intellectual property rights is the correct approach.  The leaders said that the G20 Roadmap for Digitalisation, which can be found here (see Annex paper 1), will guide future work.  The roadmap contains 11 policy areas where the G20 would like to see action. The G20 wants to improve world-wide access to digital technologies, which means more people need to have access to the Internet.  So, the leaders encourage G20 countries to develop digital strategies that support the ITU’s Global Connect 2020 Agenda goals.  The optimal way to do so is for countries to have a regulatory environme ...

Today, the EU and Japan announced political agreement in principle on an Economic Partnership Agreement.  Overall, this should be a positive development for EU and Japanese workers, consumers, and businesses.  But, it does fall short in one crucial regard.  There is no binding data flow obligation yet.  SIIA put out a statement on this gap today.  Instead of a binding data flow commitment now, the two sides agreed to conclude an accord on data flows in early 2018. 

SIIA hosted a panel discussion for delegates to the World Trade Organization (WTO) E-Commerce Work Committee in Geneva on March 14, 2017.  UNCTAD’s Cecile Barayre, the Brookings Institution’s Joshua Meltzer, Tala’s Zach Marks, and Google’s Nicholas Bramble provided background information, which elicited many insightful questions.  One takeaway that is perhaps not obvious to all who participate in trade negotiations is that cross-border data flows are not necessarily synonymous with domestic deregulation.  This is consistent with SIIA’s view that governments should permit – indeed even encourage – cross-border data flows through offering data transfer interoperability mechanisms that enable cross-border data flows, but at the same time ensure compliance with national privacy and other laws.  This resource paper provides information on sources that governments and others can consult as they consider policy in this space.

Those of you who read SIIA blogs, statements, and testimony know that we are big proponents of data-driven innovation.  For such innovation to achieve its full potential, cross-border data flows are essential.  That is why we support Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) digital provisions so strongly and consider them a floor for additional digital provisions in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).  We support interoperability mechanisms such as the EU-US Privacy Shield that allow companies to transfer data from one jurisdiction to another as long as they comply with the rules established in the mechanism.  This has nothing to do with undermining societal values such as privacy and everything to do with creating law-based data transfer mechanisms as we demonstrated at an October 9, 2015 Geneva event for TISA negotiators.  We are strong supporters of the EU-US Privacy Shield because it has the potential, ...

The European Parliament’s Pilar del Castillo led a February 17, 2016 breakfast debate on the economic and trade impacts of data flows.  The event was organized under the auspices of the European Internet Forum with SIIA serving as the industry lead organizer.   The speakers emphasized the following elements in the data flow debate.   Data flows matter to what might be considered traditional industrial enterprises as much as they matter to “technology” sector companies.  The EU has offensive digital trade goals – the recently concluded EU-U.S. Privacy Shield might make it easier for the Commission to pursue those goals in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations.  Common cooperative regulatory mechanisms need to be created in order ensure that data flows can continue to underpin global value chains (GVCs).  Europe-wide initiatives such as the Single Paymen ...

Today, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) joined other groups in commending progress on U.S. – EU Safe Harbor negotiations.

The Thursday November 5 release of the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) agreement text shows that the 11 negotiating countries got the data flow provisions right. The 21st century electronic commerce chapter provisions will benefit many sectors beyond the software and information industries that SIIA represents.

There is a growing and strong business coalition urging action on the Judicial Redress Act.  The coalition sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi today.  We are hoping that the House of Representatives passes the Act through a suspension vote next week.

Yesterday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its decision on the Schrems Case, a lawsuit against Facebook regarding data privacy.  The court’s decision determined that the U.S. – EU Safe Harbor Agreement is invalid.  This decision will create legal uncertainty for over 4,400 companies in the Safe Harbor as they may no longer use the Safe Harbor as a basis for transferring data between the United States and the European Union.  Upon news of the decision, SIIA issued its comments to voice deep concern about its effects on data flows and digital trade.