Article by Freedom House: “From Pakistan to Zambia, governments around the world are increasingly proposing and passing data localization legislation. These laws, which refer to the rules governing the storage and transfer of electronic data across jurisdictions, are often justified as addressing concerns such as user privacy, cybersecurity, national security, and monopolistic market practices. Notwithstanding these laudable goals, data localization initiatives cause more harm than good, especially in legal environments with poor rule of law.
Data localization requirements can take many different forms. A government may require all companies collecting and processing certain types of data about local users to store the data on servers located in the country. Authorities may also restrict the foreign transfer of certain types of data or allow it only under narrow circumstances, such as after obtaining the explicit consent of users, receiving a license or permit from a public authority, or conducting a privacy assessment of the country to which the data will be transferred.
While data localization can have significant economic and security implications, the focus of this piece—inline with that of the Global Network Initiative and Freedom House—is on its potential human rights impacts, which are varied. Freedom House’s research shows that the rise in data localization policies worldwide is contributing to the global decline of internet freedom. Without robust transparency and accountability frameworks embedded into these provisions, digital rights are often put on the line. As these types of legislation continue to pop up globally, the need for rights-respecting solutions and norms for cross-border data flows is greater than ever…(More)”.
