On 27 August, we were honoured to have Dr. Neha Mishra (Geneva Graduate Institute) present at an internal research seminar on "International Trade Law and Global Data Governance: Aligning Perspectives and Practices", moderated by Assoc Prof. Jason Grant Allen (CAIDG Director), with commentary by Prof. Colin Picker (RMIT University).
In today's digital age, governments worldwide are struggling to balance participation in a thriving global digital economy with the need to protect vital public interests, including data privacy, data security, and fair digital markets. Developing countries face added challenges due to insufficient digital infrastructure, poor regulatory capacity, and a weak voice in most global and transnational fora on data governance. It is crucial to unpack these complex interfaces between digital trade and data regulation.
Drawing from her recent book, Dr. Mishra explored whether international trade law can regulate global flows of digital data in a way that aligns with contemporary policy priorities in global data governance. She examined the suite of data regulatory measures across different policy areas and the role of international trade law in both disciplining unnecessary regulatory barriers in digital trade and fostering a meaningful and inclusive global framework for data governance. This dialogue is increasingly important, as several countries are adopting narratives and agendas of digital and data sovereignty, which could, in turn, fragment the global economic order.
Dr. Mishra’s book, available open access, focuses on five areas of data regulation: privacy and data protection, cybersecurity regulation, governmental access to data, bridging the global data divide, and competition regulation. It concludes with a proposal for a multilayered framework in international trade law that better aligns trade rules with global data governance. We thank Dr. Mishra for providing invaluable insights on the intersections of international trade law and global data governance.
Read her book on the Hart Publishing website (open access).
Last updated on 06 Sep 2024 .