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Demanding policies for digital rights, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
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FEATURED ARTICLES
April 11, 2023
How the protection of source code of software in digital trade law shapes domestic approaches to interoperability, transparency and accountability of digital technologies and algorithmic systems.
February 14, 2023
New research from the Digital Trade Alliance, supported by the Digital Freedom Fund, warns that the reality of “Data Free Flow with Trust” (DFFT) in Japan appears to be signing up to different sets of rules that are likely incompatible with each other.
ALL PUBLICATIONS
Artificial Intelligence
COVID-19
Privacy & Human Rights
Surveillance
Trade & E-Commerce
Artificial Intelligence
COVID-19
Workplace Coronavirus Tracing Apps Institute Dystopian Mass Surveillance by Default (Public Citizen)
Privacy & Human Rights
¿Hacia dónde va el primer tratado sobe economía digital? (Derechos Digitales)
Surveillance
Workplace Coronavirus Tracing Apps Institute Dystopian Mass Surveillance by Default (Public Citizen)
Trade & E-Commerce
VIDEOS
Shielding AI Code From Government Review. What Could Go Wrong?
April 11, 2023
In this webinar, we delve into the effects of protecting source code of software against disclosure and access by government as espoused in international trade law.
In order to better gauge the effects for domestic regulation, we review the concepts of source code and algorithm and the ways in which they show up across the fields of software engineering, theoretical computer science, and AI.
We then refine these technical use-cases of source code and algorithms into a simple model of how code is regulated, with a discussion of the implications for AI regulation and AI trade.
This will provide essential input for our discussion about how the protection of source code of software in digital trade law shapes domestic approaches to interoperability, transparency and accountability of digital technologies and algorithmic systems.
In order to better gauge the effects for domestic regulation, we review the concepts of source code and algorithm and the ways in which they show up across the fields of software engineering, theoretical computer science, and AI.
We then refine these technical use-cases of source code and algorithms into a simple model of how code is regulated, with a discussion of the implications for AI regulation and AI trade.
This will provide essential input for our discussion about how the protection of source code of software in digital trade law shapes domestic approaches to interoperability, transparency and accountability of digital technologies and algorithmic systems.
What is the US-Kenya STIP and why does it matter for online privacy?
March 7, 2023
Officials from the U.S. and Kenya recently met in Washington DC for their first conceptual discussions of the US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP). This STIP is the Biden administration’s alternative to the Trump-initiated U.S.-Kenya Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
The Kenya STIP is the latest in a patchwork of pacts and agreements by the US that will deal with so-called “digital trade” among other issues. Tech giants and corporates mostly based in the US have made clear their hopes for the STIP, according to new research from Strathmore University’s Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) based in Nairobi.
What exactly is the US-Kenya STIP? What are the concerns of digital rights experts and advocates in Kenya? Why should legislators in the US and Kenya care about its implications for consumer privacy and Big Tech accountability?
Speakers:
• Dr. Melissa Omino, Acting Director, Strathmore University’s CIPIT
• Dr. Paul Ogendi, University of Nairobi, Faculty of Law-Kisumu Campus
• Melinda St. Louis, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch
A Tale of Two Data Regimes: Can the EU Japan Adequacy Decision be Challenged?
February 15, 2023
Slides:
- A Tale of Two Data Regimes
- Japan, Digital Trade and Data Governance
- Can Japan Have the Best of Both Worlds?
Japan champions the concept of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFTT): enabling cross-border data flows while preserving privacy and security. Unfortunately, the application of this concept by Japan is problematic and not conducive to the necessary convergence towards higher standards required for DFTT to work.
A new report from the Digital Trade Alliance, supported by the Digital Freedom Fund, warns that the reality of DFTT in Japan appears to be signing up to different sets of rules that are likely incompatible with each other. The country is currently home to two “free data flow areas,” one deemed compliant with EU privacy rules on personal data, namely adequacy under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); and the other under recent trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the US-Japan Digital Trade Agreement (USJDTA). Japan has committed to some restrictions on EU data flowing freely to the US, but this two-tier regime could mean breaching its digital trade obligations.
The Japanese data protection framework has improved in recent years although several concerns remain that create risks for individuals, particularly around transparency and enforcement of the complex rules for transfers. The main problem remains the risk and uncertainty from the conflicting standards that the adequacy agreement and Japan’s trade agreements place on the control of cross-border data flows.
WHO:
Javier Ruiz, consultant covering a broad range of digital and technology policy and advocacy areas
Dr. Svetlana Iakovleva, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) of the University of Amsterdam.
Prof. Hiroshi Miyashita, Associate Professor of Law, Faculty of Policy Studies, at Chuo University in Japan
Why is Big Tech so Afraid of the EU's Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act?
July 14, 2022
The European Union has been a leader in setting high standards for strong consumer data privacy, as reflected by its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which much of the world has begun to emulate.
Recently, the European Parliament and Council of the EU reached a political agreement on two path-breaking laws which have the potential to act as a check on Big Tech overreach: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DMA will give the European Commission unprecedented powers to monitor and hold accountable digital platforms, or so-called “gatekeepers.” The DSA focuses on user safety and platform accountability among intermediaries.
There remain many questions, particularly in the United States, about the details of the DMA and DSA and how they will be implemented. Already, U.S. Big Tech companies are taking aim at these laws in various fora.
Digital Tug of War: The UK’s digital trade dilemma
July 18, 2020
As negotiations of a new UK/US trade agreement advance, the British are in danger of having cherished Internet freedoms and rights traded away.
Every indication points toward the UK Government bowing to enormous pressure from American tech giants to water down privacy protections. As they stand, US proposals will severely impact Internet regulation by controlling the building blocks of digital technology: data flows, source code and algorithms.
Will the UK agree to the US’s terms and make a clean break from EU privacy standards? Or is it possible they are playing for more concessions from the EU?
Three digital trade experts each detail the priorities from a different region – The US, the UK and the EU – followed by discussion and Q & A from the audience.
Speakers:
Burcu Kilic, Director, Digital Rights Program, Public Citizen, US
Javier Ruiz , Policy Advisor, Digital Trade Alliance, UK
Anna Fielder, President, European Digital Rights (EDRI), EU
Moderator: Matthew Rice, Open Rights Group Scotland Director
Every indication points toward the UK Government bowing to enormous pressure from American tech giants to water down privacy protections. As they stand, US proposals will severely impact Internet regulation by controlling the building blocks of digital technology: data flows, source code and algorithms.
Will the UK agree to the US’s terms and make a clean break from EU privacy standards? Or is it possible they are playing for more concessions from the EU?
Three digital trade experts each detail the priorities from a different region – The US, the UK and the EU – followed by discussion and Q & A from the audience.
Speakers:
Burcu Kilic, Director, Digital Rights Program, Public Citizen, US
Javier Ruiz , Policy Advisor, Digital Trade Alliance, UK
Anna Fielder, President, European Digital Rights (EDRI), EU
Moderator: Matthew Rice, Open Rights Group Scotland Director
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 • 9am ET/3 pm CET
Who We Are
About Us
Policy Outreach
Public Education & Media
Our Impact
Our Future
About Us
The Digital Trade Alliance is a collaborative effort of digital rights and consumer groups assembled in 2018. The Alliance model provides effective advice and expertise to us in order to structure the transnational debate on digital trade.
The Alliance is an exclusive, closely-knit cohort of experts and social leaders who operate with a high degree of trust and hands-on experience.
We share ideas, network together, and collaborate closely to achieve change.
Our methods for achieving change are:
- Research and analysis on pressing digital trade issues
- Outreach to policymakers and other digital rights advocates
- Campaigns and capacity buildingducation and media
Policy Outreach
We build bridges between digital rights advocates, trade communities, and policymakers to help create a mutual, interdisciplinary understanding of urgent global and bilateral issues.
We voice our concerns and make the Alliance’s demands known through participation in trade negotiations, policy forums, and high-level conferences around the globe.
As part of our recent policy outreach efforts, we organize campaigns and policy sign-on letters:
In November 2020, the Digital Trade Alliance organized a sign-on letter with 42 privacy and consumer organizations, stressing the importance of privacy and building choice for trade negotiators in the WTO’s digital trade negotiations.
We voice our concerns and make the Alliance’s demands known through participation in trade negotiations, policy forums, and high-level conferences around the globe.
As part of our recent policy outreach efforts, we organize campaigns and policy sign-on letters:
In November 2020, the Digital Trade Alliance organized a sign-on letter with 42 privacy and consumer organizations, stressing the importance of privacy and building choice for trade negotiators in the WTO’s digital trade negotiations.
Public Education & Media
We take advantage of traditional and social media to build effective advocacy campaigns. We publish blog posts, videos, and podcasts.
The Digitrade Digest delivers the latest developments in global digital trade right to your inbox every week. CIPIT’s the US-Kenya FTA podcast series look at various aspects of what might be included in the final text of the US-Kenya FTA.
The Digitrade Digest delivers the latest developments in global digital trade right to your inbox every week. CIPIT’s the US-Kenya FTA podcast series look at various aspects of what might be included in the final text of the US-Kenya FTA.
Our Impact
Our coordinated efforts create an environment in which we can effectively push for a pro-consumer/user agenda in digital trade discussions. Our Alliance partners experts in their fields and their expertise is sought by media organizations, key trade negotiators, and policymakers.
Open channels of communication between Alliance members provide us with compelling insights on negotiations and trade talks that allow us to make meaningful contributions to the global digital trade conversation.
Open channels of communication between Alliance members provide us with compelling insights on negotiations and trade talks that allow us to make meaningful contributions to the global digital trade conversation.
Our Future
We demand policies for digital rights, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
The Alliance has an ambitious agenda going forward. We want to open a path for transformative change in international digital trade policymaking by empowering consumer groups to engage with trade policy.
We strive to engage with new audiences across the policy spectrum, develop strong new relationships with our civil society allies, and increase our working partnerships with trade policymakers at the national, regional, and international levels in the coming years.
We continue to proactively shape the digital trade conversation in ways that will lead to transformative change.
The Alliance has an ambitious agenda going forward. We want to open a path for transformative change in international digital trade policymaking by empowering consumer groups to engage with trade policy.
We strive to engage with new audiences across the policy spectrum, develop strong new relationships with our civil society allies, and increase our working partnerships with trade policymakers at the national, regional, and international levels in the coming years.
We continue to proactively shape the digital trade conversation in ways that will lead to transformative change.
OUR MEMBERS
