Transborder Data Privacy as Trade

Abstract

Data flows continuously across national boundaries. The current model of regulation for data privacy, an essential component for safe data flow, relies impractically on jurisdiction-specific rules. This practice impedes the benefits of data, which are increasingly a necessary and integral part of day-to-day life. A look at the history of data privacy reveals that this practice is rooted in an ill-fitting adoption of privacy standards set in the period after World War II. Europe was reeling from the Nazi regime and intent on keeping the government out of the home and personal communication. Analogies between these traditional protected areas and the contemporary transmissions and use of personal data are unsatisfying—and lead to unsatisfying policy. Traditional privacy jurisprudence must be better reconciled with rapidly advancing technology and globalization.