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The False Promise of Data Nationalism

December 9, 2013

This report argues that calls to keep data within national borders are misguided and ineffective in making data more secure.

A growing number of policy makers believe that data is more private and secure if it is stored domestically. This report shows why this is a false promise by providing a short guide to the implications of storing data on servers in foreign countries, with a foreign-owned service provider, or both, under various conditions. The report also recommends the United States engage its trade partners in developing a “Geneva Convention on the Status of Data” that establishes international legal standards for government access to data.

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