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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

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.

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:

 

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

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, April 11th, 2023 • 9am ET/3 pm CET

Who We Are

OUR MEMBERS

Public Citizen, United States
Privacy International, United Kingdom
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), European Union
Derechos Digitales, Latin America
Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippines
European Digital Rights (EDRI), European Union
La Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC), Argentina
Open Rights Group (ORG), United Kingdom
The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (vzbv), Germany
The Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT), Kenya​
Data Privacy BR, Brazil