The amount of data produced every day is mind-boggling. Whenever we tap a Facebook ad, send an email or swipe our credit cards, we generate massive amounts of data at the speed of a simple click and transaction. For example, roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every day, largely due to the acceleration and growth of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Yet exactly where this data resides, and who owns it, has raised security and privacy concerns among regulators around the world. These “data sovereignty” concerns have pushed some countries to accelerate efforts to control data produced within their borders - and it risks stifling innovation.
The emergence of digital sovereignty
In an effort to control digital information produced by citizens, government agencies and corporations, countries, including the U.S., are increasingly setting rules and standards for how data can and cannot move around the globe. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the number of laws, regulations, and government policies that require digital information to be stored in a specific country more than doubled between 2017 to 2021.
As countries work to regulate and control data produced within their borders, the idea of digital sovereignty has emerged in an attempt to disrupt the flow of what has become a kind of digital currency. Digital sovereignty, otherwise known as data sovereignty, entails the assertion that “the digital exhaust created by a person, business or government should be stored inside the country where it originated, or at least handled in accordance with privacy and other standards set by a government.” The U.S. is early in its journey towards regulating data, but other countries are much further along with turning data into national property.
Take China for example. It introduced the Measures on Security Assessment of Cross-Border Data Transfer, which requires data security assessments before companies are allowed to transfer any data out of the country. The United Kingdom is another example, announcing The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which establishes new regulatory frameworks of UK data protection. These are just two of many instances where governments are moving to restrict the open flow of data, taking a “trade wars” style approach, apparently without taking into account the consequences this will have on innovation and global development. The reality is, closed models can stifle innovation and development in comparison to embracing greater openness.
Embracing the open movement of data
The open flow of data creates shared opportunities and enables innovation via key collaborations across the globe. This can range from construction companies sharing data to increase site safety or nations sharing data to help control diseases. When people stop working together and sharing data, these potentially life-saving innovations significantly slow down. Data sharing should follow the same path as the open-source movement, where developers across the globe collaborate to create better systems and architecture that benefit everyone.
The real key to the open sharing of data is the recognition that data is non-rival - it can be used by many, and re-used. It can be shared in a variety of ways, whether it be anonymized, temporary, or protected for better outcomes - both social and business. In fact, the World Economic Forum concluded that the social value of digitalization is greater than its commercial value, so it’s essential to the growth of our society that we share data.
Looking to the future
However, we can’t forget just how potentially dangerous data can be if it falls into the wrong hands, which means there is still a need to ensure data is being used fairly and safely and with privacy in mind for personal data. This is where metadata comes into play. With analyzing metadata and enacting policies to prevent the misuse of data, we can avoid perverse outcomes and use data to our collective advantage as humans, not just within but also across borders.To be successful, we will need the right technology stack for fluidity, metadata, and openness, with the hope that everyone takes a positive non-zero sum view versus a narrow, conflict, centered view.
Overall, the current view of data sovereignty is short-sighted; today, data sharing is an essential element of the digital economy. Those who support the movement fear that borderless data will be misused, but embracing the power of openness is not in conflict with efforts to also guarantee that shared data is used fairly.
Just as the initial critics of the open source movement - including the president of Microsoft - quickly became its champions, those calling for data sovereignty will soon change course and embrace the open sharing of data and its benefits. This approach will be key to the success that will lead to innovation and better outcomes for citizens, government agencies, and corporations across the globe.
