Suchergebnisse

This editorial introduces ten research articles, which form part of this special issue, exploring the governance of "European values" inside data flows. Protecting fundamental human rights and critical public interests that undergird European societies in a global digital ecosystem poses complex challenges, especially because the United States and China are leading in novel technologies. We envision a research agenda calling upon different disciplines to further identify and understand European values that can adequately perform under conditions of transnational data flows.

Today, cross-border data flows are an important component of international trade and an element of digital service models. However, they are impeded by restrictions on cross-border personal data transfers and data localization legislation. This Article focuses primarily on these complexities and on the impact of the new European Union ("EU") legislation on personal data protection—the GDPR. First, this Article introduces its discussion of these flows by placing them in their economic and geopolitical setting, including a discussion of the results of a lack of international harmonization of law in the area. In this framework, rule overlap and rival standards are relevant. Once this situation is established, this Article turns to an analysis of the legal measures that have filled the gap left by the lack of international regulation and the failure to harmonize law: extraterritorial laws in the European Union (regional legislation) and the United States (state legislation); and data localization laws in China and Russia. Specific provisions restricting cross-border personal data transfers are detailed under EU legislation, as are the international agreements that have been invaluable in allowing flows between the United States and the European Union to continue—first the Safe Harbor, and now the Privacy Shield. Finally, in this context, the role of data governance is investigated, both in the context of data controllers' accountability for the actions of other actors in global supply chains under EU law and under the Privacy Shield. Thus, this Article goes beyond the law itself, to place requirements in the context of the globalized business world of data flows, and to suggest ways that companies may improve their compliance position worldwide.

Today, cross-border data flows are an important component ofinternational trade and an element of digital service models. However, they are impededby restrictions on cross-border personal data transfers and data localization legislation. ThisArticle focuses primarily on these complexities and on the impact of the new EuropeanUnion ("EU") legislation on personal data protection—the GDPR. First, this Articleintroduces its discussion of these flows by placing them in their economic and geopoliticalsetting, including a discussion of the results of a lack of international harmonization of lawin the area. In this framework, rule overlap and rival standards are relevant. Once thissituation is established, this Article turns to an analysis of the legal measures that havefilled the gap left by the lack of international regulation and the failure to harmonize law:extraterritorial laws in the European Union (regional legislation) and the United States(state legislation); and data localization laws in China and Russia. Specific provisionsrestricting cross-border personal data transfers are detailed under EU legislation, as are theinternational agreements that have been invaluable in allowing flows between the UnitedStates and the European Union to continue—first the Safe Harbor, and now the Privacy Shield. Finally, in this context, the role of data governance is investigated, both in thecontext of data controllers' accountability for the actions of other actors in global supplychains under EU law and under the Privacy Shield. Thus, this Article goes beyond the lawitself, to place requirements in the context of the globalized business world of data flows,and to suggest ways that companies may improve their compliance position worldwide.

Using a new materialist line of questioning that looks at the agential potentialities of water and its entanglements with Big Data and surveillance, this article explores how the recent Snowden revelations about the National Security Agency (NSA) have reignited media scholars to engage with the infrastructures that enable intercepting, hosting, and processing immeasurable amounts of data. Focusing on the expansive architecture, location, and resource dependence of the NSA's Utah Data Center, I demonstrate how surveillance and privacy can never be disconnected from the material infrastructures that allow and render natural the epistemological state of mass surveillance. Specifically, I explore the NSA's infrastructure and the million of gallons of water it requires daily to cool its servers, while located in one of the driest states in the US. Complicating surveillance beyond the NSA, as also already imbricated with various social media companies, this article questions the emplacement and impact of corporate data centers more generally, and the changes they are causing to the landscape and local economies. I look at how water is an intriguing and politically relevant part of the surveillance infrastructure and how it has been constructed as the main tool for activism in this case, and how it may eventually help transform the public's conceptualization of Big Data, as deeply material.

Appropriately applied, accurate information is central to decision making, including decisions on all matters related to development. Information is a precondition for identifying alternatives, reducing uncertainty about their implications, and facilitating their implementation. Thus, information is a critical resource.