The concept of globalization predates the advent of the Internet. Still, it’s a fact that the Internet accelerated globalization, enabling instant communication access to the world and facilitating access to information across the globe. On the other hand, we have never had our privacy so exposed after the Internet. Our data is distributed across servers worldwide and is accessed by different countries and companies to get insights through personal and collaborative behaviours to define trends or make decisions. Additionally, there are cases of data leaks that exposed private information on the underground Internet; just in 2018, 2216 breaches were officially reported from 65 countries, and the worst of these numbers, 536 violations, were in the healthcare industry(Seh et al.,2020). Regulations, restrictions, and national interests could fragment and put in check the openness of the global Internet and impact the way that it figures in globalization. However, an international agreement about data protection, new methods to safeguard and authorize personal data usage, and a correct and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) could serve as alternatives to prevent Internet fragmentation.
In 2006, Professor Clive Humby of the University of Sheffield predicted the significant role of data in the world and coined the famous phrase, “Data is the new oil.” This analogy refers to the processes of extracting, refining and distilling data to drive business innovation and the value of this product in the global market. His prediction was correct, as large-scale data infrastructure models developed in subsequent years. Many companies have tried to collect massive amounts of data from some segments to construct a complex data market. However, with the evolution of technology, legislation in many countries has been adapted to protect their citizens and their data. Some countries have implemented rules to ensure the right of forgotten or anonymized private or sensitive data. They have also created special regulations to safeguard this data type, further increasing the difficulty of data transportation across borders.
It is indisputable that there are advantages in economies and societies in adopting data-driven business models. However, the benefits of data flow depend on the trust of all actors operating in the digital realm. Consumers are unlikely to use products or services they do not trust; companies, especially in the digital space, must invest much effort to achieve the benefits of scale unless they can operate globally, and the countries need to protect their national interests. Faced with this scenario, 71% of the countries have implemented policies to protect their citizen’s data and protect their national interests, and the other 9% have some draft legislation (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTD], 2021). For instance, the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR) from the European Union determines some rules for collecting, safeguarding, and using personal or sensitive data.
A regulatory entity was created to supervise the proper application of the law; this entity has the power to define the consequences for those who do not observe the rules(European Parliament, Council of the European Union, 2016). Extreme actions to protect the privacy of the citizens and the national interest can be observed in countries like China and Russia, where restrictions on the internet and strings mechanisms to control were implemented for the government to ensure the control of all data. They have created alternative services to substitute the global competitors and blocked access to certain services for their citizen’s privacy and the country’s interests(Budnitsky, S., & Jia, L., 2018). When there are numerous legislation, norms, frameworks, and guidelines about data protection, it becomes challenging for policymakers to enforce privacy and data protection across different jurisdictions effectively. Confronted with the complex global scenario, large companies, especially tech firms, require specialized teams, with lawyers, data protection officers (DPOs), solutions architects, and other professionals to understand the requirements of each country or region present and promote the adjustments for these rules to operate in the global market and gain the consumer’s trust.
Solutions for this challenge involve conceiving an international law harmonizing legal requirements between all countries and improving the technical sphere. There are successful efforts to equalize the political process in some economic blocks, such as the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While these protocols simplify the process in restricted countries, many others have distinctions in their laws and procedures. The establishment of common law will reduce the cost of operations on a global scale, provide legal security for governments and companies, facilitate audits by national and international authorities, establish clear rights and duties preventing inappropriate behaviours, and could accelerate the development of new tools to simplify and increase the security of data transport, safeguard, and management across the borders. Additionally, in the technical sphere, some standard technical protocols could be adopted in data safeguarding, tracing, and usage authorizations. Once this global protocol is implemented, a new data usage model could be created. If data is the new oil, it is fair that the data owner could decide to share, sell, or control its usage. In this way, a digital data wallet could be created (Norta et al.,2021), where the user could choose to share specific data or disallow access to data by certain companies and obtain an extract of their data transmitted on a global scale. Talking about technical developments and recent advances in artificial intelligence, in the future, we will have powerful tools to detect, combat, or track eventual data leaks (Mohammed, 2015), increasing security, confidence and compliance with the laws. Once the rules are harmonized, a global technical protocol is implemented, and data security is automated, data flow between countries will be simplified and trustworthy for all the actors.
In conclusion, the Internet has played a colossal role in globalization by enabling global connectivity, instant communication, and access to information. Unfortunately, it has also exposed our privacy in unprecedented ways due to common usage. In addition, the misusage of personal records by some companies and data leaks emphasize the imprudence or lack of skills to manage this data type. To deal with this complex scenario, it is necessary to approach that issue through legal harmonization, the definitions of modern technical protocols and models, and the automatization of audits to prevent security breaches. These actions are essential to lead with data protection and privacy challenges in the digital era. By promoting trust in cross-border data flows and empowering individuals to manage their data effectively, we will enjoy the benefits of data-driven innovation and globalization without the bureaucracy or fragmentation of the Internet market and the high costs of global data protection operations.
References
Budnitsky, S., & Jia, L. (2018). Branding Internet sovereignty: Digital media and the Chinese–Russian cyber alliance. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 21(5), 594–613. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549417751151
European Parliament, Council of the European Union. (2016). Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on protecting natural persons about the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). Official Journal of the European Union, L 119, 4.5.2016. https://gdprinfo.eu/
Mohammed, A. I.(2015). The Interaction Between Artificial Intelligence and Identity & Access Management: An Empirical Study. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, pp. 3, 668–671. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353888035
Norta, A., Hawthorne, D., & Engel, S. L. (2018). A Privacy-Protecting Data-Exchange Wallet with Ownership- and Monetization Capabilities. In 2018 International Joint Conference on Neural Networks (IJCNN) (pp. 1–8). Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. https://doi.org/10.1109/IJCNN.2018.8489551
Seh, A. H., Zarour, M., Alenezi, M., Sarkar, A. K., Agrawal, A., Kumar, R., & Khan, R. A. (2020). Healthcare Data Breaches: Insights and Implications. Healthcare, 8(2), 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8020133
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2021). Data Protection and Privacy Legislation Worldwide. Retrieved from https://unctad.org/page/data-protection-and-privacy-legislation-worldwide
University of Sheffield. (2023). Profile of Professor Clive Humby. Retrieved from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/dcs/people/academic-visitors/clive-humby