The U.S. Advocates for Trusted Data Flows and Multistakeholder Digital Governance

Line of Effort 1: Support the Trusted Flow of Data and Advocate for Multistakeholder, Risk-Based Approaches to Digital and Data Governance

Digital solidarity is further built and reinforced through the joint development, harmonization, and mutual recognition of rights-respecting approaches to data governance and digital trade. This work is currently ongoing through mechanisms such as Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Digital Transformation with Africa initiative (DTA), the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP), the G7, OECD, TTC, and the Quad.

The United States supports the trusted free flow of data and an open Internet with strong and effective protections for individuals’ human rights and privacy and measures to preserve governments’ abilities to enforce laws and advance policies in the public interest. Legitimate concerns about data privacy can be addressed through protective mechanisms that follow the data while at the same time facilitate cross-border data flows and strengthen global cooperation among enforcement authorities. The United States will continue championing trusted cross-border data flows by promoting data transfer mechanisms that improve interoperability between different data privacy regimes. Working alongside our interagency partners, the Department of State supported the negotiation and implementation of the EU- U.S. Data Privacy Framework; the development of the OECD Declaration on Trusted Government Access to Data Held by the Private Sector, which identifies commonalities in the privacy safeguards democratic governments follow when accessing data for legitimate law enforcement and national security purposes; as well as initiatives on Data Free Flow with Trust at both the G7 and the OECD. The Department of State works with the Department of Justice to clarify application of the U.S. Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act and to negotiate bilateral agreements under the act.

Along with Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan, the United States launched the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) Forum in April 2022, building on the previously established Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CBPR system. The CBPR provides a data privacy certification backed by relevant authorities that facilitates data flows by promoting interoperable, enforceable data protection standards. Officials from the Departments of State and Commerce will continue efforts to bring new countries into the agreement, building on efforts such as workshops held in Kenya, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, UK, Israel, Jordan, Panama, Colombia, Fiji, and Barbados as well as ASEAN countries.

While the United States and its likeminded trade partners share many of the same values, we often have differing approaches to how to regulate the digital economy. The U.S. government advocates for multistakeholder, risk-based approaches that target the challenges we face while providing the flexibility to realize the benefits of new and emerging technologies. Unilateral approaches in digital taxation and the imposition of network usage fees often do not address the core issues of accessibility and fairness expressed by their proponents. Additionally, the rise of a growing digital sovereignty narrative that has been embraced by some of our close partners and allies has the potential to undermine key digital economy and cybersecurity objectives. The Department of State, working with other agencies, will continue to argue against data localization, network usage fees, digital services taxes as well as other market access barriers that contribute to the perception of increased control, but in reality often can undermine growth and security objectives.