Join the Internet Governance Lab as we host an online talk with International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore Professor Varadharajan Sridhar about ‘Data Localization Regulations and their Impact on Digital Trade’.
It has been observed that data flows across national borders have been on the increase due to extensive digitization, ubiquitous Internet connectivity, and proliferation of digital platforms and associated services. However, as a corollary to this phenomenon, serious concerns have been raised by the governments and regulators across the globe on protecting consumer data that are collected and transmitted by various digital firms (aka data fiduciaries). Governments around the world have been restricting cross border data flow through “data localization” regulations, driven in part by concerns of privacy, national security, surveillance, and cyber terrorism. The extent of data localization varies from free flow of data to storing certain types of personal data to meet the local requirements to storing all data only within the territorial jurisdiction of the country. Though there are certain legitimate concerns of the governments regarding protection of personal data of their respective citizens and also claim sovereignty over data generated from within their countries, scholars have long proclaimed that any restrictions to the Internet and associated digital trade will have serious economic consequences. Data localization affects the data subjects and data fiduciaries, across important factors such as price and quality of service.
In this talk, first we provide a survey of data localization regulations in select countries, followed by a discourse on the economics effects of data localization. We also provide a stylistic model of digital trade and show how varying degrees of data localization affects the interests of different stakeholders.
Dr. V. Sridhar is Professor at the Centre for IT and Public Policy at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, India. He is the author of two books published by the Oxford University Press: The Telecom Revolution in India: Technology, Regulation and Policy (2012), and The Dynamics of Spectrum Management: Legacy, Technology, and Economics (2014). His third book titled Emerging ICT Polices and Regulations: Roadmap to Digital Economies was published in 2019 by Springer Nature. His currently edited book titled Data Centric Living: Algorithms, Digitization and Regulation, is scheduled for publication in 2022 by Routledge. Dr. Sridhar has taught at many Institutions in the USA, Finland, New Zealand and India. He has received funding from different sources, both national and international for his research projects, recent ones being from Facebook. He has been a member of Government of India committees on Telecom and IT and has published many peer reviewed articles in telecom and information systems journals. Dr. Sridhar has a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, U.S.A. His work can be accessed at: http://www.vsridhar.info.