Data flow restrictions are hurting China: ITIF – MENAFN.COM

Data flow restrictions are hurting China: ITIF – MENAFN.COM

But some policymakers assume that storing data domestically is a sensible way to protect their citizens' privacy or security. In other cases, governments do it for nationalistic or authoritarian purposes. Either way, and in the end, it's self-defeating. Restricting data flows damages economies by inhibiting trade, lowering productivity, and raising prices, according to a new report from Washington-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Innovations powered by technologies such as cloud, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain don't just benefit from the movement of data across international borders, they depend on it. In fact, the number of nations with regulatory barriers preventing that from happening has more than doubled in four years "” from 32 countries in 2017 to 66 now, says the ITIF, a think tank for science and technology. Together, those countries have implemented 154 measures that confine data within their borders "” a concept known as"data localization" "” up from 67 such barriers in 2017. Using econometric modeling, ITIF has found that restricting data flows with these localization requirements has a statistically significant impact on a nation's economy"” sharply reducing its total volume of trade, lowering its productivity, and increasing prices for downstream industries that increasingly