ITI Marks International Data Privacy Day
Calls for Agreement on Transatlantic Data Flows, Stakeholder Engagement on Global Privacy Laws
WASHINGTON – Ahead of International Data Privacy Day on January 28, global tech trade association ITI underscored the importance of protecting global citizens’ personal data and privacy while supporting innovation and the free flow of data. Over the past year, the world continued to see developments on privacy and data protection, including on negotiations to find a successor agreement to the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield and the advancement of privacy laws in markets across the globe.
Transatlantic Data Flows Agreement Negotiations
Data flows underpin over 16 million jobs and more than $5.6 trillion in commercial sales annually. However, since the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) decision in the Schrems II case to invalidate the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield in 2020, questions regarding businesses’ ability to share data have created significant legal uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Cross-border data flows between the U.S. and the EU are the largest in the world, representing the backbone of the digital economy and underpinning critical trade relationships for U.S. and EU industries,” said ITI’s President and CEO Jason Oxman. “To achieve trans-Atlantic business success, we need a successor agreement to the Privacy Shield. ITI urges EU and U.S. negotiators to address the CJEU’s ruling and agree on a framework that is consistent with U.S. and the EU laws.”
Mapping Global Privacy Regimes
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) continues to have significant impact globally by providing a comprehensive privacy framework and inspiring legislation in various jurisdictions, including China, the U.S., India, and elsewhere.
“Privacy and trust are central to every company’s business and global operations,” Oxman said. “Protecting individual rights is essential for businesses across all sectors, and we urge policymakers to work with stakeholders to develop innovation-friendly and robust privacy policies that avoid a fragmented regulatory approach that could undermine data innovation practices and limit consumer choice and individuals’ welfare.”
Read more about ITI’s expertise on privacy and data protection:
- Protocol: Privacy, antitrust, broadband: Tech policy in 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- EURACTIV.com: What’s Next for the Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council? (opens in a new tab)
- POLITICO Digital Bridge: Trade and POLITICO Digital Bridge: Tech Council on or off? — Privacy Shield disconnect — Content moderation (opens in a new tab)
- Reuters: New China privacy law to be ‘major’ force globally (opens in a new tab)
- The Wall Street Journal: China Passes One of the World’s Strictest Data-Privacy Laws (opens in a new tab)
- WIRED: Ignore China’s New Data Privacy Law at Your Peril (opens in a new tab)
- DigiChina: China’s Draft Privacy Law Adds Platform Self-Governance, Solidifies CAC’s Role (opens in a new tab)
- The Economic Times: Tech firms may take data bill to court if House adopts it verbatim (opens in a new tab)
- ITI Blog: Advancing Transatlantic Relations (opens in a new tab)
- ITI Blog: How the TTC Can Advance the Best of What Data, Technology, and Trade Policy Has to Offer (opens in a new tab)
- ITI: We Are Hopeful That an EU-U.S. Data Transfer Agreement is Within Reach (opens in a new tab)
- ITI: Global Tech Group ITI Participates in U.S.-India Dialogue on Data Protection Bill (opens in a new tab)
- ITI: ITI Welcomes Progress on Federal Privacy Law Discussion (opens in a new tab)
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